What Rams GM Les Snead and coach Sean McVay said about each draft pick

Fans and analysts have already been evaluating the Los Angeles Rams’ 2021 draft class, wondering how each of the nine players fits into the team’s plans for this coming season and beyond. But that’s tough to do in April, especially without knowing exactly how the coach and GM view them.

Coming out of the draft, Les Snead and Sean McVay shared their thoughts on each of the Rams’ draft picks. They highlighted their strengths, described their potential roles and the thought that went into each pick.

Here are some highlights from McVay and Snead’s comments about the Rams’ 2021 draft class.

WR Tutu Atwell, No. 57 overall

Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

McVay: “I see a player that plays a lot bigger than that. I've been around some of these guys that don't measure as big, but they play big. He seems like a friendly target on those intermediate and down-the-field routes. I think he does an excellent job of playing big where he's going up, I see him high point some balls down the field. I think that's where we always talk about the tape guides our decision-making. You don't want to be naive to the facts of some of the overall stature and size, but I've been around a lot of guys that have measured the same and different guys play big. Brandin Cooks is supposedly a smaller player and I know he's a lot stronger and more physical, but he plays big down the field and so we hope that TuTu does those same things.” Snead: “So, we identified TuTu and a few other receivers in this draft. Like they had like this rare, unique ability to explode off the ball and keep running fast the longer the down went. But that doesn't happen every year, some years it's a big receiver group. But this draft did have few receivers that we're going to probably measure up near the top in terms of that, if you want to call it, that speed, that juice, that deep threat we were all talking about the season. So, it was one like, all right, whether you have DeSean or not you better attack while you can because it might be a couple drafts before you get a few of those guys.”

LB Ernest Jones, No. 103 overall

(AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Snead: “He's such an instinctive player, figures it out in there. It's a tough little area to play behind the box there, especially nowadays with what Sean and the coordinators are doing, the jet motions and all the stuff going on, so things happen fast. He's just got that knack to go find the ball, avoid blockers. He's got some interesting traits where he's a longer-armed human being, so that allows him to blitz, use his hands to probably bat those longer tackles, those arms down and get the QB. He's tough to throw over. He's really, really sound in zone coverage and has made some picks. I call it with guys with longer arms, it's just tough to shoot over them as a QB.” McVay: "I think he's got a great presence about himself. I thought it was really helpful too, our scouts’ background, but then also Thomas Brown, our assistant head coach, he had been with him at South Carolina, could really attest to the type of leader that he is, the communicator, the competitor. We started hearing our scouts and coaches talk about the comparisons and then you just watch the play energy and the way he brings it, everybody kind of elevates them around him. Those are things that we're really excited about.”

DT Bobby Brown, No. 117 overall

(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Snead: “Bobby is a large human being, very athletic, very strong. So, definitely felt like he was worthy of picking there at the start of the fourth round based on that skillset.”

CB Robert Rochell, No. 130 overall

Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports

Snead: “Rochell is another kid from a small school, but a very athletic, long corner, a lot of upside there. Very, very athletic human being that what he can do, that's not a projection, is once he breaks on a ball, he can break and he gets to the receiver, the ball, really quick. That's, that's not a projection, that's what mom, dad, God gave him to close and him able to flip those hips and do that. You're always looking, ‘Hey, what's your projection?’ So, with Robert, it's okay, if he's our fourth corner this year, Coach Morris was jacked to get ahold of him.”

TE Jacob Harris, No. 141 overall

(AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

Snead: “Jacob Harris – interestingly, all three of those guys had some unbelievable-type pro days. Jacob Harris really played wide receiver at Central Florida and was probably our number one ranked special teamer, in terms of coverage, but he's a fast guy that we project could go to tight end and just an interesting weapon based on the special teams and things like that.”

DE Earnest Brown IV, No. 174 overall

(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Snead: “Big Earnest Brown, a typical Northwestern player. He's tall, long, heavy, just an instinctive football player. He's someone that can add versatility of maybe playing inside and also outside a little bit like Morgan Fox at times. So, that versatility kind of allowed for that but we would have taken it at most positions a quality player if they fell and that's kind of what we tried to do."

RB Jake Funk, No. 233 overall

Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

Snead: “Jake Funk, another guy that we had highly rated as a coverage player, for special teams he can return and so that's a good thing.”

WR Ben Skowronek, No. 249

Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Snead: “And then big Ben has just been a really fun player to watch. He's a genre we don't have at receiver. He’s tall, big, long arms, wide wingspan, can go up and get rebalanced. Fun player to watch blocking. So, you could project him being basically one of our better blockers on our team and a special teams projected.” McVay: “Ben has probably been in a three-point stance more than Harris has. So, I saw him in the goal line packages. He has a toughness; he has a good feel to his game where he's got some versatility. So, you never know. Teams might have to treat him like a tight end, receiver with how we'll utilize him, but he's not afraid to do the dirty work.”

OLB Chris Garrett, No. 252 overall

(AP Photo/Andy Clayton- King)

Snead: “A small school kid who basically destroyed that league, but a fun player to watch. Has some initial juice that really gave him an edge in that league and the sacks in the amount of games speak for themselves.”

1

1