I was listening to the NFL’s Move the Sticks podcast recently & it inspired me to write about how each of the Super Bowl contending teams were constructed for the 2021-2022 season. I’m not about to re-hash everything analysts Daniel Jeremiah & Bucky Brooks said in their latest episodes, but rather summarize what they said & throw in my own flavor to the conversation too. The NFL is a copycat league where the hottest trends are duplicated time & time again. What lessons can be learned from how each of these contenders went about building their franchises? Let’s begin our series by exploring how the 2021-22 Super Bowl Champion team was built.
Unique roster approach
The bottom line for the Rams is that their formula for success is impossible to duplicate. That’s because they didn’t just use one method (the draft, trades, free agency) to build the roster. They used all of these methods to their advantage, & decided to go all in on building their team. Blue chip players (Aaron Donald, Matt Stafford, Odell Beckham Jr.) were made available to them along their journey, and they capitalized by acquiring all of these great players. It’s pretty remarkable that all their hard work paid off & the team was rewarded with a championship.
Emphasis on draft’s later rounds
Rams teams haven’t featured a first-round draft pick on the roster since Jared Goff in 2016. Their franchise won’t draft in the 1st round again until 2024 due to the Matt Stafford trade. The only 1st round pick they’ve drafted in recent years that’s still on the roster is Aaron Donald. They do a great job in using the earlier rounds of the draft to their advantage though, acquiring key starters such as WR Cooper Kupp, RB Cam Akers, & S Taylor Rapp in the 2nd & 3rd rounds. What also benefits the team is acquiring role players (WR Van Jefferson, RB Darrell Henderson, S Jordan Fuller) in the draft whose complimentary skillsets fit in well with the rest of the roster. This is risky business in terms of team building, but the Rams have done it better than anyone.
Trades, trades, and more trades
Rams GM Les Snead wore a shirt to the Super Bowl parade that said, “f— them picks.” That sums up how the Rams feel about their 1st round draft picks, using all of them in recent years to trade for veteran stars like QB Matt Stafford, CB Jalen Ramsey, & WR Brandin Cooks. Cooks didn’t really work out, but the other two have paid dividends on both sides of the football. DE Von Miller, OG Austin Corbett, & RB Sony Michel were also acquired via recent trades. Needless to say, there’s clearly been a team emphasis on adding proven players to the roster. It’s rare that blue chip players are available via trade, so the Rams outbid everyone else to get them.
Free agency frenzies
Finally, there were several key free agent additions that made the Rams title run possible. Acquiring WR Odell Beckham Jr. & S Eric Weddle aided in the team’s success down the stretch. Their signings of OT Andrew Whitworth, WR Robert Woods, & DE Leonard Floyd paid off too. All of these acquisitions made for a slow roster build that transformed a mediocre squad into a championship-winning unit in the span of five seasons. The Rams have this “team of destiny” feel to them, and they probably are since their formula for success is impossible to duplicate. This franchise has done a remarkable job of adding talent at all positions in a half-decade span.
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