Rich Eisen had the LA Rams General Manager, Les Snead, on the show this week in the aftermath of the 2025 NFL draft. After trading out of the first round and picking up a first-round pick in the 2026 draft, Snead took a moment to break down his strategy.
Les Snead and the Rams Made an Unpredictable Trade
Les Snead has been the GM of the Rams since 2012 and has helped them to win a Super Bowl with his unique approach to building an NFL roster.
In 2024, Snead made his first first-round draft pick since 2016. The Rams selected Jared Verse, the defensive end out of Florida State, with the 19th overall pick, marking the first time they’d added a first-round prospect since they drafted Jared Goff.
In the seven years that followed the Jared Goff selection in 2016, Snead traded the first-round pick away. The 2017 pick was a part of the trade to move up in the previous draft to get Goff. They traded the 2018 pick for wide receiver Brandin Cooks, while the 2019 pick was exchanged with the Atlanta Falcons for more picks.
Snead and the Rams then swung back twice, trading the 2020 and 2021 first round picks to the Jacksonville Jaguars to acquire cornerback Jalen Ramsey. He followed that with a trade that sent both the 2022 and 2023 first rounders to Detroit along with the quarterback swap for Matthew Stafford.
Seven years in a row without a first-round pick, and it worked. Stafford was the final piece to the puzzle, and the LA Rams won Super Bowl LVI with the roster Les Snead had constructed.
In 2025, he traded out of the first round again, only this time it was a little different, and Rich Eisen was confused.
“I don’t know what you’re doing with your picks anymore! One minute you’re effing them the next you’re collecting them…”
💻 Les Snead
The @RamsNFL general manager has gone from "F these picks" to "what do I do with all these picks?!" and explained this year's #NFLDraft strategy:#NFL #RamsHouse pic.twitter.com/3xKi4uzEyt
— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow)
Snead explained that the Rams felt there was a strong possibility they might trade back in this year’s draft, by confirmed that each decision is made on a case-by-case basis:
“When Atlanta came calling for a future 1, we felt like it was better for us to delay the gratification… and take a pick in the next year’s draft and still trade back.”
When Eisen asked if there was somebody the Rams had already identified in the 2026 draft, Snead responded with an honest answer about the unpredictability of college football right now.
The Rams GM explained that with everything going on in college football right now, it’s hard to even know which players are going to declare for the draft. They can make their money through NIL deals and stay in college now, which makes it harder for scouts and GMs to prepare for future drafts.
Rams Head Into 2026 Draft With Two First–Round Picks
Now, the team that has only made one first-round draft pick in the last nine years has two first-round picks in the 2026 draft. The Atlanta Falcons sent their first-rounder to the Rams to trade back into the first round for pass rusher James Pearce Jr. out of Tennessee.
Whether the Rams decide to trade one of those picks, or even both of them, will be revealed as the season approaches. What was interesting was Snead making it clear he plans to maximise the Stafford era before he thinks about what comes next.
That attitude might mean trading those picks for players that can help the Rams win right now.
