Entering Year 10 of the Sean McVay-Les Snead era, the Los Angeles Rams are once again equipped with a roster that is primed to compete for a Super Bowl. Having achieved eight winning seasons in nine years, including seven playoff trips and a world championship, the brain trust of McVay and Snead can rarely be questioned.
As a result, NBC Sports’ Patrick Daugherty ranked the duo third on his list of the best general managers in the NFL. While Snead is the actual general manager, both have gone on record to say that any roster move made has to be done with both men in agreement.
Is it just too easy for Sean McVay and Les Snead? The Rams’ franchise cornerstone, Aaron Donald, retired after the 2023 campaign. How have they done in the two seasons since? Divisional Round loss and NFC Championship Game loss. Replacing Donald was a test the Rams passed without even studying. Maybe that’s why they insisted on upping the difficulty level this offseason. After finishing one game shy of the Super Bowl with a 38-year-old quarterback, the Rams should be all in on 2026. It seemed like they were when they traded a first-round pick for Chiefs CB Trent McDuffie. Then it came time to make their other pick and … yeah. Staring the Lombardi in the face, McVay and company selected Ty Simpson, someone who won’t play until 2027 at the earliest absent injury. It’s bad enough the Rams passed on immediate help. It’s even worse when you remember McVay changes his mind quickly on offense. Will Simpson even still be his ideal quarterback two years from now? The Rams are too smart for the rest of the league. Occasionally, they are too smart for even their own good.
Over the last two seasons, the Rams were one play away from knocking off the eventual Super Bowl champions. Only time will tell if Snead and McVay did enough to close such a minute gap in 2026.
The only executives above Snead and McVay are Howie Roseman of the Eagles and John Schneider of the Seahawks. Roseman and Schneider built the last two Super Bowl champions, so it’s understandable that they’d be ranked ahead of the Rams’ tandem.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Rams’ Snead-McVay tandem lands near top of NFL GM rankings for 2026
Reporting by Brock Vierra, Rams Wire / Rams Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
