The Los Angeles Rams don’t put a lot of stock in athletic testing numbers when targeting prospects in the draft. That’s not to say they ignore it completely, but they certainly put less weight into 40-yard dash times than most other teams.
Instead, they focus on how a player performs on film and their game speed, which is captured by player-tracking data – like at the Senior Bowl or at the combine, where Puka Nacua reached the fastest speed of any prospect in the gauntlet drill.
Their lower emphasis on athletic testing is what helped them land players such as Cooper Kupp in the third round, Nacua in the fifth and this year, they drafted Kamren Kinchens in Round 3 despite teams likely being scared off by his 4.65 in the 40.
Their 2024 draft class ranked 23rd among all teams in Relative Athletic Score, and their current roster as a whole ranks even lower than that compared to the rest of the league. According to Kent Lee Platte, the Rams’ RAS of 6.66 is the lowest in the NFL, significantly lower than even the next-closest team (Raiders, 6.91). The Colts have the highest RAS at 8.39, so they really prioritize athletes in the draft.
32. Los Angeles #Rams
Avg #RAS 6.66The Rams are the only choice here as they haven't had a roster that averaged 7.00 or above since 2008. We already know they blaze their own path when it comes to the draft, roster building is no different for them.
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) May 23, 2024
No one should be concerned about the Rams’ lack of relative athleticism on the 2024 roster. As Platte notes, this has been a trend for years, with Los Angeles targeting good football players over athletes.
It also doesn’t help that one of their best athletes, Aaron Donald, is no longer on the roster so that hurts their overall athleticism score.
One position where the Rams do put a greater emphasis on athleticism is along the defensive line and at edge rusher. Both Jared Verse and Braden Fiske graded out as terrific athletes this year. The same goes for Byron Young, who had an RAS of 9.22 in the 2023 draft.
Les Snead and Sean McVay have their own methodology and evaluation process when it comes to finding NFL talents and it’s worked to the tune of two Super Bowl appearances and one world championship since 2017.