Sean McVay is tipping his hat at his approach to the NFL Draft which shouldn’t come to a surprise. He didn’t even entertain the thought of looking at a quarterback this draft, despite Matthew Stafford in the twilight years of his NFL career, per a story on Pro Football Talk.
You can’t really blame McVay. Any good coach isn’t going to give any indication on their draft strategy. In fact, part of his strategy is to probably throw GMs off their scent by saying he isn’t looking at a quarterback just to get them to back off who he might be eyeing as Stafford’s replacement.
Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams were able to come to an agreement to restructure his contract, which has two seasons left on it. At this point, it will be a year-by-year negotiation. They were able to come to an agreement this time around, but what if they don’t next year? Not a chance McVay isn’t thinking about who takes over for Stafford.
Because that could come as soon as 2026 if Stafford is interested in exploring other teams next offseason.
Don’t be fooled, Sean McVay is eyeing Matthew Stafford’s replacement in the upcoming draft
McVay has his sights set on who is going to replace Stafford be it next season or the season after. It would be coaching malpractice to not have an idea on who you want to draft to learn from Stafford for a year or two before taking over.
While Stafford isn’t quite at the mentoring stage of his career thanks to his elite play, it doesn’t mean a late-round draft pick couldn’t become his protege. Which is exactly why McVay knows he has to start looking to the future.
What McVay probably means by stating he hasn’t thought about a replacement quarterback is he isn’t interested in drafting a quarterback before the third or fourth round. The Rams have some holes to fill, including offensive line and wide receiver.
The Green Bay Packers made the mistake of not getting Aaron Rodgers some help and instead drafting his successor in the first round. McVay isn’t interested in being that irresponsible. But he’s not neglecting the fact that he has to start thinking about who will play in Stafford’s place in a season or two.
The good thing is this is a deep enough quarterback class that the Rams can wait until the fourth or even fifth round and take a flier on a player that could develop into a decent NFL quarterback.
McVay’s strength is offense and particularly getting the most out of his quarterback. Whoever he turns to after Stafford’s deal is done in LA, they’re in good hands. It’s a pretty good chance that player is in this draft, McVay just doesn’t want you to know that yet.