2026 NFL Draft: Why The Rams — Known For 'F Them Picks' — Go All Out With Draft House

[Fox Sports NFL]

It makes sense that an L.A. native is the originator of the Los Angeles Rams draft house — someone intimately familiar with the diverse landscape of the city. Lexi vonderLieth, senior vice president of brand for the Rams, is the brainchild of the draft house. She joined the franchise in 2019, pitching the concept as a big swing to lure sponsors for the franchise. The Rams draft house spawned during the restless months of the COVID-19 pandemic, when NFL teams made draft picks from living rooms and garages at home. "At the time, people were having these TikTok houses and Airbnb had these really cool branded houses," vonderLieth told me. "We came up with the concept of drafting from a house. It fit our strategy so much because there was always that narrative that we draft differently. But that’s so ‘inside football,’ so we were trying to figure out how do you commercialize that a little bit. "The year before, during COVID, we actually learned that you could do it from people’s houses. That was also the learning that, ‘All right, we saw that people were doing it from the garages and living rooms, we can probably do this at a house.’" In five years, the draft house has grown into a signature, tent-pole event for the franchise that has gained national attention, raising the profile of a team fighting for eyeballs in the ultra-competitive L.A. sports landscape. The NFL is led by paranoid, risk-averse front office types concerned about leaking any morsel of information, but the flexibility and outside-the-box thinking of general manager Les Snead and head coach Sean McVay created an opportunity for the Rams. "We are pretty innovative around here — nothing a lot more than that," Snead said when I asked him about the draft house during the team's recent pre-draft Zoom press conference. "It was that [business] side of the building wanting to add a little more ‘oomph’ to the draft and the date on the calendar where it brings our fans together for this moment." For the first time this year, the Rams draft house is open to the public – a fan-facing, interactive experience at Hollywood Park in Inglewood near SoFi Stadium. In a preview to the draft and introduction of revamped uniforms, the Rams put together an homage to the popular "Friday" movie called "Thursday," which includes cameos by Ice Cube’s son (O’Shea Jackson Jr.), Chris Tucker’s son (Destin Tucker) and Rams pass rusher Jared Verse. The Rams launched their first draft house in Malibu. They usually look at 10 homes before picking a house, with IT support staff and football brass getting a close look at the homes before making a final decision. The Rams also must meet league specifications, including having a camera in the draft room for live look-ins. That marketing campaign at Malibu included a video of actress Rebel Wilson touring the team’s new digs with McVay, Snead and current players. "Malibu the first year was sort of the shock and awe that we’re drafting from a house, and we needed that L.A. view of a beach," vonderLieth told me. "And we really wanted to give that view to fans. … We knew the TV cameras would be picking that up, and we knew most teams were going to go back to drafting at the facility, so to have this unique view was really important." The following year, after winning the Super Bowl, the Rams relocated the draft house to the Hollywood Hills, with awe-inspiring views of downtown Los Angeles. Three years ago, after experiencing a Super Bowl hangover and finishing 5-12, the Rams moved to the San Fernando Valley in Encino, creating a video called "Change the Equation" with a theme of the team going back to the lab. The Rams had their first fan event at Hermosa Beach, a hotbed location for season-ticket holders. The Rams placed a 60-yard replica of the turf field at SoFi Stadium for fans to enjoy in the sand and hosted a draft house with a view of the beach. However, tragedy led to the Rams shifting to more of a community-focused event last year, with the Los Angeles wildfires forcing the Rams to host their NFC Wild Card game against the Minnesota Vikings in Arizona. In honor of the people affected by the devastating fires that ravaged Altadena and Pacific Palisades, the Rams partnered with the Los Angeles Fire Department, converting the LAFD Air Operations in Van Nuys into the team’s draft headquarters sponsored by Zillow. "The coolest situation that we’ve been a part of was last year being with the firefighters and all the different things in our community," McVay said when I asked him about the Rams' draft house during the team's Zoom pre-draft call. "Les and I were actually talking about that. The other stuff was fun. That was more meaningful and impactful. I thought that was really special." According to vonderLieth, she learned about the Air Operations facility from her son, who played hockey with two helicopter pilots who worked out of the facility. "It was probably the easiest sell," vonderLieth told me. "Everyone got on board and our players were the most engaged in that one. We had lunch with L.A. F.D. and all the players wanted to be there to celebrate with the guys." What started as amplifying the L.A.’s innovative "F them picks" approach to player acquisition has morphed into annual community celebrations for fans on draft weekend. "Inglewood has been on the radar as a place we wanted to go, but it made the most sense this year for a few reasons. Obviously, it is our home. But it’s a great way to start the season with the draft at our home and, hopefully, we are ending the season here in the Super Bowl," vonderLieth said as SoFi Stadium will host Super Bowl LXI next February. "I do see this as a fan event moving forward. Hopefully, we see the success of it this week, how our fans are reacting, coming down and celebrating with us."

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