The Rams' 2023 Draft Class Has Been One of the Best Steals in Modern NFL History, and It's About Time We Gave Them Credit

You know, I've been watching football for a lot of years, and I've seen plenty of draft classes come and go. Some of them look brilliant on day one and fall apart by year two. Others look like complete disasters at the time and then suddenly you're watching a third round pick become an All-Pro and you realize how wrong everybody was. The Los Angeles Rams' 2023 draft class is one of those situations where time has been incredibly kind to them, and I want to talk about why this matters more than just numbers on a spreadsheet.

When you go back and look at what happened in April of 2023, the national conversation around the Rams wasn't exactly glowing. The organization had been through a lot. They'd won a Super Bowl just a few years prior in 2022, but getting there had cost them. They'd mortgaged future assets, made bold trades, and suddenly they found themselves sitting in a draft where people were questioning whether they could even rebuild effectively. Sean McVay was still there, but the confidence in the front office wasn't what it used to be. Draft analysts across the country were watching closely to see if Les Snead and company could build something meaningful going forward.

Here's the thing that I love about this particular draft class for Los Angeles. When you look at what they've accomplished in just three years, it's remarkable. These guys aren't just contributing to a football team. They're becoming foundational pieces. They're becoming the kind of players that you build around, the kind of players that you know you can count on for the next decade. That doesn't happen very often in the NFL, and it sure as hell doesn't happen by accident.

Let me tell you something about the modern NFL draft. It's become this incredibly complex thing where everyone has their spreadsheets and their algorithms and their fancy computer models. Scouts are armed with more information than ever before. Teams have cap specialists and analytics departments and scouts working around the clock to find advantages. And yet, after all that, you still see teams completely whiff on draft classes. You see guys who are supposed to be superstars wash out in two years. You see seventh round picks become pro bowlers. It's one of the most humbling things in football because it reminds you that we don't know as much as we think we know.

The Rams, though, they seem to have figured out something. Whether it was McVay's evaluation, whether it was the front office's ability to find value, whether it was the coaching staff's capacity to develop young talent, something clicked in 2023. And I think that deserves recognition because it doesn't get talked about enough. We spend so much time talking about the Jaguars and the top picks and the splashy selections that we forget about the teams that quietly build something exceptional.

This reminds me of some of the great draft classes from history. Think back to the early 2000s when some of these organizations were finding incredible value in later rounds. Think about how teams used to build dynasties on the back of smart drafting. The Patriots, back in the day, weren't always getting the flashiest first round picks. They were finding guys who fit their system, who had the right attitude, who could be coached. That's what great organizations do. They don't just draft talent. They draft fit. They draft character. They draft guys who can contribute to a winning culture.

The Rams have done that in 2023. When you look at where these guys were drafted and what they've accomplished since, it's genuinely impressive. These aren't just depth pieces. These aren't just camp body guys who hang around for a year or two. These are guys who have integrated themselves into the backbone of the franchise. They're the kind of players that when you build a contender, you're going to be leaning on them heavily.

What kills me, though, is how little credit the Rams get for this. We live in this world where if you don't get the biggest free agent or you don't make the splashiest trade, people act like you failed. But that's not how you build a sustainable winning organization. You build it through the draft. You build it by finding value that other people missed. You build it by developing young talent and creating a winning culture. That's what separates the organizations that win one Super Bowl from the ones that win multiple.

I think about all the talking heads who questioned the Rams' direction after that 2023 draft. I think about the mock draft experts who rated them poorly. I think about how little fanfare there was around this class compared to some of the other teams. And then I look at what's actually happened on the field, and I think about how foolish some of those early takes look now. That's the beauty of football, man. That's why we love it. You can have all the experts in the world and sometimes the quietest draft class turns into something special.

The reality is that building an NFL team is hard. It's incredibly hard. You've got to manage the salary cap. You've got to find guys with the right attitude. You've got to develop them properly. You've got to have coaches who believe in them. You've got to create a culture where these young players can thrive. The Rams have done all of that with this 2023 class, and they deserve credit for it.

This matters for fans because it shows what's possible when an organization gets it right. It shows that you don't have to blow it all up and start from scratch to compete. It shows that smart drafting and player development can actually build something sustainable. In a league where too many teams are stuck in a cycle of mediocrity, where they're constantly churning through players and never actually building anything, the Rams are proof that there's a better way. They're proof that if you stay patient, if you make smart decisions, if you develop your talent, you can actually build something special. That's the kind of blueprint that every NFL fan should want their team to follow. That's football at its best, folks. That's how you build a winner.