The Jeff Fisher and Les Snead era in charge of the Los Angeles Rams has come full circle.

In the same offseason that the Rams moved back to Los Angeles after a two-decade absence, Fisher and Snead are now reliving the first big move they made as Rams' personnel decision-makers in reverse.

Thursday's blockbuster trade with the Tennessee Titans saw the Rams make a significant move up the board, leaping all the way from No. 15 to No. 1 and, presumably, the rights to a potential franchise quarterback, presumably North Dakota State's Carson Wentz or Cal's Jared Goff.

To get there, the Rams had to give up their first four picks in this year's draft (Nos. 15, 43, 45 and 76) and their first- and third-round picks in the 2017 draft. The Rams also received Tennessee's fourth- and sixth-round picks this year. But make no mistake. This was a move brought about by the Rams' desire to land the franchise quarterback that Sam Bradford and so many others since Marc Bulger failed to become.

It's also a move wrought by the Rams' previous inability to draft and/or develop a quarterback using the many extra picks they acquired from the Washington Redskins in the 2012 blockbuster deal in which the Rams sent the No. 2 overall pick to Washington in exchange for three first-round picks and a second-round pick in 2012.

The Rams used those picks to add a defensive lineman, a wide receiver, a linebacker, an offensive tackle, two running backs, a cornerback and a guard, while Washington picked what it hoped was a franchise quarterback in Robert Griffin III. Noticeably absent from that list and the list of all draft picks made by Snead and Fisher in the past four years is one important position: quarterback. The Rams' record since Fisher and Snead took over is 27-36-1 without so much as a .500 season, let alone a playoff appearance.

Those on-field failures can be attributed to many things, but none rises above the team's lack of stability and production at quarterback. Since 2012, the Rams rank 28th in passing yards, QBR and yards per attempt, 29th in passing touchdowns and 26th in passer rating while starting six different quarterbacks.

In the four drafts with Fisher and Snead at the helm, the Rams have made 37 picks, 17 of which came in the first three rounds. It wasn't until the team took Sean Mannion in the third round of the 2015 NFL draft that they used more than a sixth-round pick on a quarterback, and they didn't even do that until 2014 when they took a late-round flier on Garrett Gilbert of Southern Methodist.

Sure, they tried to strike gold by trading Bradford for Nick Foles last year, but it didn't work as Foles was benched after nine games, returning only after Case Keenum suffered a concussion.

Now, finally, the Rams' reluctance to make finding a franchise quarterback a priority in previous years has come home to roost. Thursday's trade is one of the biggest moves up for the No. 1 overall pick in NFL history and a tacit acknowledgement that the Rams can no longer spend their days wishing and hoping for the likes of Bradford, Foles, Keenum, Austin Davis, Shaun Hill and Kellen Clemens to hold the fort while running backs like Todd Gurley and Steven Jackson do all of the heavy lifting.

Whether the next quarterback turns out to be Wentz or Goff is still up for debate, though Wentz would seem the more likely of the two. Over the past few months, the Rams have quietly been doing their legwork on all of the draft's top quarterbacks. They had formal interviews with Goff and Wentz at the combine in February and had a workout with Wentz in recent weeks. Asked at the owners meetings what he thought of the draft's top two quarterbacks, Fisher had positive reviews on both.

"Wentz is obviously very smart," Fisher said. "I don't think he's ever gotten a B in his life. He's got the leadership qualities. And from a football standpoint he's got all the traits. The arm strength and decision-making ability and he can make all the throws. The same thing with Goff, too. Not every quarterback coming out is going to have that same personality. All their personality types are different. But both of them are perfect for the NFL, get in the huddle and to lead and win games."

At some point in the near future, one of them will get in the Rams' huddle and lead. Whether it means more wins for the Rams or not remains to be seen. But if the Rams finally are to get over the hump in this, the fifth year of the Fisher/Snead regime, they had to admit to themselves what most of the rest of the league already knows to be true: An elite quarterback is the path of least resistance, and it comes at the greatest cost.