Looking back, the Los Angeles Rams' victory in Super Bowl LVI feels like it was inevitable. After all, they were led by a star-studded crew including Sean McVay, Matthew Stafford, and Aaron Donald. But the road to a championship was anything but smooth.

They cycled through quarterbacks before making the bold decision to trade for Stafford, a talented passer who had never won a playoff game. They took a chance on the youngest head coach in modern NFL history to transform their culture and offense. They reached — and lost — Super Bowl LIII before learning to adapt their in-game tactics. And they embraced a new approach to team-building that challenged conventional thinking about the value of draft picks.

Join us as we discuss the Rams' move to Los Angeles, the improbable trade that changed the course of the franchise, and how they managed to go all-in without sacrificing their ability to stay competitive!

Our favorite links

• NFL Teams Know How to Draft – Why Don't They? – Michael MacKelvie, YouTube
• The Loser's Curse: Decision Making and Market Efficiency in the National Football League Draft – Cade Massey and Richard Thaler, Management Science (July 2013)
• The Playcallers – Ep 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5 with Jordan Rodrigue, Podcast
• The Rams are the Most Fascinating Team-Building Experiment in the NFL – Riley McAtee, The Ringer
• Inside the Rams' major changes to their draft process, and why they won't go back to 'normal' – Jordan Rodrigue, The Athletic
• The Franchise: A Better Way to Understand Matthew Stafford's Decade in the NFL – Kevin Clark, The Ringer
• The incredible origin stories of young Aaron Donald – Ryan Hockensmith, ESPN

Show credits

• Theme music by Paul Hinkes
• Graphic design and logo by Kai Takahashi

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