Roster And Draft Class Breakdown: Los Angeles Rams

AJ Mast / Associated Press

The Los Angeles Rams have the tough task of defending a title. The draft was basically a wash for the Rams who continue to opt to bring in proven talent as opposed to developing players. The core group is back, and they added to it. Can the Rams run it back? Will this approach come back to bite them in terms of the salary cap? Does the salary cap even exist? Let’s break it all down.

Offense

Anybody who knows me understands that I feel Matthew Stafford is completely overrated. With that being said, he has one more title than I do now so I’m probably not one to talk at the moment. Stafford was a big part of what made that offense go and he was locked up for the next four years. Cam Akers is healthy so start the season unlike last year. He should be a full go this season. Kyren Williams was picked in round five from Notre Dame. He really slipped in the draft and LA scooped him up. He probably won’t see much time as ball carrier rookie, but he was in the top five in receptions (77) and receiving yards (663)by a back from 2020-2021. He could be a third down specialist this season. Down the road may be a better possibility for him to get more playing time depending on the future of Darrell Henderson.

Cooper Kupp won the triple crown of receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns in the regular season. He probably won’t do that again, but he will have another great year. He has even more help with Allen Robinson coming over to eat up some attention. Robinson is a possession receiver and Stafford has done well with those type of guys (Megatron). He’s probably a little overrated, but an overall solid player. Van Jefferson needs to be more consistent to stay on the field. His speed kills defenses. Tyler Higbee returns as the top tight end. Because of everyone coming back, these positions were not addressed in the draft.

The offensive line got some retooling with the retirement of Andrew Whitworth and the departure of Austin Corbett. From left to right, Joe Noteboom, David Edwards, Brian Allen, Bobby Evans, and Rob Havenstein make up the men in the trenches. Since this was a weak spot (if you really want to call it that), the Rams knew they had to bolster depth in the draft. They did just that with their first pick in the draft, third rounder Logan Bruss from Wisconsin. The Rams o-line numbers wise were the most efficient pass blocking line in the league. Bruss coming from Wisconsin adds some serious skill in run blocking since that’s what Wisconsin does that about 75% of the time. Bruss is a perfect fit because that Rams offense is the same run and play action heavy playbook, just with a modern/pro twist. Bruss right now is the backup right guard. They added depth again with their final pick in the draft. AJ Arcuri was taken in the seventh round from Michigan State. He spent six years there and started 17 games at left tackle, and eight at right tackle. He is one of those guys who will get stashed, developed, and we’ll see what happens.

Defense

The Rams are running the 3-4, but they lost a fair amount of players. Thankfully, Aaron Donald did not retire and is locked up for at least a few more seasons. AD had 12.5 sacks last season. Nose tackle Greg Gaines had the best year of his career posting 4.5 sacks. A’Shawn Robinson is still on the left side. Since the d-line is intact, no worries there.

Linebacker is a bit different, especially when you lose a guy like Von Miller who wanted more of a challenge. Leonard Floyd, Ernest Johnson, new edition Bobby Wagner, Justin Holmes makes up the LB core. Wagner comes over after his release from Seattle. The walking hall of famer is still a tackling machine. Daniel Hardy was a seventh round pick from Montana State. Hardy had 77 tackles, 16.5 sacks, and 24.5 tackles while starting all 15 games last season. Despite the gauti looking numbers, he may have to start as a special teams player before even cracking the sub package rotation. This kid definitely has some potential though, so keep your eye on him.

The secondary is mostly the same too. Darious Williams heading to Jacksonville is a pretty big loss though. They knew Eric Weddle would go back into retirement so no surprise there. Tory Hill is actually back in the fold after spending some time with the Browns to team up with Jalen Ramsey again. Taylor Rapp and Jordan Fuller make up the young safety tandem. The Rams went to town and added four DBs via the draft. Two corners and two safeties. They started by adding a true ball hawk - Decobie Durant from South Carolina State. When you read about this guy, it’s crazy that he was still available in the fourth round. Durrant led the MEAC in passes defended with 14 and tied the conference with the most picks with 14. The Rams struggled with yards after contact, they gave up the second most yards in that category in 2021. Just want to properly cite my sources here - stats and information of this nature that have been used in these articles are all curiosity of ESPN. Just want to cover my bases. Then there is Derion Kendrick from the defending champs, the Georgia Bulldogs. The sixth rounder tied for the conference led in picks and didn’t give up a touchdown as a primary defender.

The first of the safety picks was Quentin Lake, a sixth rounder from UCLA. He adds versatility. Lake had three picks and six passes defensed. Finally to wrap up the draft picks, Russ Yeast from Kansas State. Yeats was a seventh rounder who came away with four interceptions and 10 passes defensed, both were second most in the Big-10.

Draft Misses And Projection As Of Right Now

I can’t fault the Rams roster, so I’m not even going to waste time trying. This team is loaded. The one thing that could be better is tight end depth behind Higbee, but that’s really it. Because there wasn’t much to say about the roster, I’m going to add my projection here too. The Rams should have no problem cruising through the division and should be a Super Bowl favorite.

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We’re officially halfway through the breakdowns - got more on the way