The Los Angeles Rams have one of the best general managers in the league with Les Snead, but is it good enough to say that he’s worthy of the Pro Football Hall of Fame long before his career is over? Between drafting and trading for future Hall of Famer players and building a perennial playoff contending team around two different quarterbacks, Snead’s case is strong already.
Do most Rams fans agree that Snead is a Hall of Fame-worthy GM?
A few days ago, I came across a conversation on Turf Show Times
between Paramsfan1972 and WhamBamThankYouRam discussing whether or not Snead’s accomplishments have earned him entry into the Hall of Fame. That question wasn’t something that I had asked myself before, so I constructed a resume based on the draft, free agency, trades, and team success.
Snead’s case is strong.
Les Snead’s Rams draft history
Snead was hired by the Rams in 2012, the same year that the franchise hired Jeff Fisher as head coach. While Fisher’s influence on the 2012-2016 drafts must be noted, as should Sean McVay’s from 2017 to the present, it’s worth comparing both eras and realizing that Snead was the one constant between the good picks of past and recent.
Under Snead’s leadership, the Rams have been known for working without using first round picks in the draft. This controversial strategy drew criticism, but also helped L.A. win a Super Bowl in 2021 and it did not matter that Snead didn’t draft any first round picks since Jared Goff in 2016, a player not even on the team anymore at that point. These are 10 of my favorite draft picks under Snead:
- Aaron Donald (DT, 2014, 13th Overall): Arguably the greatest Ram of all time; a future Hall of Famer with three NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards and came up huge with the last play in the Super Bowl.
- Cooper Kupp (WR, 2017, 69th Overall): A mid-round gem who won the 2021 Triple Crown, Super Bowl LVI MVP, and Offensive Player of the Year.
- Puka Nacua (WR, 2023, 177th Overall): A 5th-round pick who broke the rookie receiving record, instantly becoming a premier WR1 and probably the best in the league.
- Todd Gurley (RB, 2015, 10th Overall): A dominant force who won 2017 Offensive Player of the Year, driving the early McVay-era offense.
- Kyren Williams (RB, 2022, 164th Overall): A Day 3 steal who emerged as a versatile, high-end starting running back.
- Ernest Jones IV (LB, 2021, 103rd Overall): A consistent, high-impact playmaker at the second level.
- Michael Brockers (DT, 2012, 14th Overall): A foundational defensive lineman in the team’s early years.
- Kobie Turner (DT, 2023, 89th Overall): A high-value third-round pick who was highly ranked in 2023 DROY voting.
- Tyler Higbee (TE, 2016, 110th Overall): A consistent, long-term producer at tight end.
- Greg Zuerlein (K, 2012, 171st Overall): One of the league’s top kickers for years, providing huge value late in the draft.
And how many teams have comfortably filled both starting tackle spots with an UDFA and a fifth round pick? Between A.J. Jackson and Warren McClendon, Snead continues to find values among the rookies classes, complete through L.A.’s offensive line. Jared Verse and Braden Fiske also exemplify that Snead’s top picks can also be home runs.
Rams free agent signings
Although Snead’s free agency record is often cited for the misses, including Allen Robinson, sometimes it’s the understated moves that deserve attention: Personally, I think his best signing was Eric Weddle, the second time when he dragged him out of retirement to play an instrumental role in the Rams’ Super Bowl victory. Do they win without him? I don’t know about that.
Recently, Kamren Curl, Nate Landman and Colby Parkinson are all being counted on to help the Rams win it all next season and contributed at a high level in 2025.
And if we go back to the beginning of McVay’s tenure, that’s when the team signed Andrew Whitworth to play left tackle, perhaps the most important addition that the franchise has made since the Greatest Show on Turf days of the late-90s and early aughts. That, coupled with signing Robert Woods the same year, ushered in a new era of Rams football and had the team back in the Super Bowl in 2018.
This year, the Rams signed Jaylen Watson to pair with Trent McDuffie, showing Snead does know how to attack a need on L.A.’s defense when he needs to.
Rams trades under Snead
Trading for cornerback Trent McDuffie has been Snead’s signature move of the 2026 offseason. Even if Ty Simpson will get the headlines because he’s a quarterback, trading for McDuffie is the type of move that could actually help the Rams win their second Super Bowl under Snead because he’s an immediate upgrade to a major position of need.
Of course, Snead trades would not be complete without talking about Matthew Stafford, the boldest move any team has made in years, and one that re-directed the trajectory of the franchise in 2021. Without Stafford and Von Miller in 2021, there would probably be no championship. And what happens with McVay after that season if L.A. missed the playoffs because they held onto Jared Goff and two first round picks?
Between Jalen Ramsey, McDuffie, Kevin Dotson, Stafford, Miller, and others, Snead’s aggressiveness on the trade market is the calling card that could punch his ticket into the Hall of Fame one day.
Bold Moves, Big Rewards
I could go on for days but the one thing that I think elevates Snead to elite, above all else, is the complete tear down and rebuild he did after the disaster season in 2022.
To go from 5-12 that season to 10-7 and the playoffs the next year was phenomenal given the personnel turnover, the dead money, the restricted salary cap room, and the lack of premium draft picks. It was that 2023 offseason that saw the Rams draft Puka Nacua, Kobie Turner, Byron Young, one of the best classes in franchise history.
Then, to have the world stop turning the following year after Donald decides to retire, start out 1-4, reset, get everyone on the same page and ultimately come one play short of reaching the Super Bowl? Masterful.
Snead’s record is not perfect, as no GMs is. But is it good enough already to warrant serious Hall of Fame consideration? Absolutely.
