before the summer assessments: roster, draft, FAs, etc

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    Back-to-back successful draft classes allows Rams to maintain aggressive approach in free agency for second-straight year

    Stu Jackson

    https://www.therams.com/news/back-to-back-successful-draft-classes-allows-rams-to-maintain-aggressive-approach-in-free-agency-for-second-straight-year

    PALM BEACH, Fla. – Finalists for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2023 who set league and franchise rookie records. The NFL Defensive of the Year in 2024. A young, ascending pass rush.

    Yes, the Rams’ post-2022 “remodel” to get to a healthier salary cap has played a part in having the means to be as aggressive as they’ve been in free agency the past two years. But they aren’t in position to do so without the success of the each of the previous two draft classes.

    While two of the three weight-bearing walls from the previous era are gone, the 2023 and 2024 draft classes have brought foundational pillars to support the remaining weight-bearing wall in quarterback Matthew Stafford.

    “You had Aaron Donald, he leaves. You had Cooper (Kupp), he leaves. But I think to those weight bearing walls, instead of having three huge pillars, we now have six or seven, probably, that are holding up the house,” Rams president Kevin Demoff said at the NFL Annual Meeting earlier this week. “And then you can go and add Davante Adams and some of those (types of players), but they don’t have to be a weight-bearing wall, right? They’re really additive to the group that you’ve already built overall. But I think the continuing to invest in our young players, that group, and growing them together, and watching them grow together and have that stability has been huge. But I think there’s an element of, you know, as you start to do it, those young players always had to be supplemented by those weight-bearing walls, until they could truly hold up the house on their own. That group can now hold up the house on their own.”

    NFL teams typically make aggressive moves when a quarterback is on a rookie contract and therefore cost-controlled during that time. It’s slightly different for the Rams: They are invested in the starting quarterback with 16-year veteran Matthew Stafford; the cost control is at multiple positions on the defensive front, wide receiver and running back, with multiple players still on rookie deals.

    Kyren Williams has rushed for more than 1,100 yards and at least 12 touchdowns in each of the last two seasons and is a candidate for a contract extension entering the final year of his rookie contract. Puka Nacua likely was headed for his second-consecutive 1,000-receiving yard season (he finished with 990) had he not been among the resting starters in Week 18. Of the Rams’ 38 sacks last season, 28.5 – or 75% – came from players who were in their first or second seasons: 8.5 from Braden Fiske, 8.0 from Kobie Turner, 7.5 from Byron Young and 4.5 from Jared Verse.

    “The neat thing over the last two years is there is this core group and I’m not just going to say the last two years, but let’s call it some years – there is this core group of players that maybe are still on their rookie contracts and in that phase of their career where you can kind of see that bunch leading the Rams into the next iteration, even though we still have some (veteran) players,” general manager Les Snead said in his end-of-season news conference in January.

    Last offseason, that core group was supplemented with the re-signing of offensive lineman Kevin Dotson, plus the external signings of cornerback Tre’Davious White, tight end Colby Parkinson, offensive lineman Jonah Jackson and cornerback Darious Williams.

    This offseason, that core group was supplemented with the additions of Adams, defensive tackle Poona Ford and offensive lineman Coleman Shelton, after the re-signings of homegrown talent like offensive lineman Alaric Jackson and wide receiver Tutu Atwell.

    Demoff said it’s probably similar to where the team was in 2017 and 2018, when it had Donald, running back Todd Gurley and quarterback Jared Goff. That trio was complemented by the growth of players like Kupp and safety John Johnson III, as well as additive pieces like cornerbacks Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters. To extend the weight-bearing walls analogy, those additive pieces weren’t brought to hold the house up – they were simply additive.

    “And I think that’s kind of where we are now, but it will always be a balance of, how do you keep drafting and developing those guys and having homegrown players, versus can you be selectively aggressive and adding players from, as Les would say, outside the ecosystem?” Demoff said. “But I think if we’ve done it right, we have the flexibility now to do both. We have the draft picks to continue to grow our players and continue to do that. We have the cap space to extend those players so they can be here seven or eight years. And then we have enough cap space on the side to be able to take a shot on a Davante Adams, to be able to keep a Matthew Stafford, to go add a Poona Ford-type player.”

    The difference, Demoff further explained, is that the Rams are bringing in players on couple-year increments. They aren’t bringing in players on, for example, five-year contracts, because that money is being earmarked to some degree for that next group which, due to being on rookie contracts, accounts for a relatively small portion of the salary cap.

    It’s a fascinating dynamic to navigate, especially with the year-to-year approach with Stafford, but one the Rams are comfortable with navigating and balancing for the time being – especially since those extension conversations can’t begin until the end of the 2025 season.

    “I think that’s the interesting part of where we are as a team. As we sit today, can’t do a Puka deal, you can’t do (a) Kobie Turner deal, you can’t do a Byron Young deal. You’re not allowed to do Verse, Fiske, any of those guys,” said vice president of football and business administration Tony Pastoors, who oversees the team’s salary cap management, referring to the league rule that drafted players can’t be renegotiated or altered in any way until after the last regular-season game of the third contracted year.

    “And so we are a really young team, and so you have this opportunity to kind of address some of these things with, say, your quarterback, because you can’t do that, and there is a minimum spend and all those things, and so it all factors in. But I’m sure once this 2025 season ends, we’ll have some people that are hoping for extensions.”

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    Rams post-draft depth chart: Continuity at OL, new-look WRs room stand out

    Jourdan Rodrigue

    https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6316644/2025/04/28/rams-2025-post-draft-depth-chart/

    LOS ANGELES — After just six picks in this year’s NFL Draft, an already-full roster didn’t have many spots open for the new crop of rookies. I have predicted that all of the rookie draft picks will make the team, however. The Rams are also still thin in a few areas, including cornerback.

    Here’s my best guess at their 53-man depth chart heading into the offseason (players are listed in order of depth):

    Quarterback (2)
    Matthew Stafford
    Jimmy Garoppolo

    The Rams will probably go into training camp with extra arms in Stetson Bennett and maybe another pickup (they haven’t officially released their list of undrafted free agents, which means some contracts are still being worked out) but it’s hard to see them rostering three players here once the season begins.

    Running back (4)
    Kyren Williams
    Blake Corum
    Jarquez Hunter
    Ronnie Rivers

    I can easily see the Rams keeping just three running backs, but Rivers’ contributions on special teams will be a factor in their decision.

    Tight end (4)
    Tyler Higbee
    Hunter Ferguson
    Colby Parkinson
    Davis Allen

    Coach Sean McVay wanted Ferguson badly and seems to already have a vision for the rookie tight end, who the Rams picked No. 46 overall. That could move Parkinson to more of a blocking role.

    Receiver (6)
    Puka Nacua
    Davante Adams
    Tutu Atwell
    Jordan Whittington
    Konata Mumpfield
    Xavier Smith

    With Ferguson expected to take on a role in the passing game, it’s possible the Rams can go lighter in numbers at receiver. Mumpfield is a sneakily intriguing and high-upside fit within McVay’s scheme, and both Whittington and Smith carved out nice roles in the offense and especially on special teams in 2024.

    Offensive line (10)
    Alaric Jackson
    Steve Avila
    Coleman Shelton
    Kevin Dotson
    Rob Havenstein
    Warren McClendon
    Beaux Limmer
    KT Leveston
    Justin Dedich
    Dylan McMahon

    I don’t believe the depth of the group will quite shake out like this once the season begins — the Rams could make additional moves in later waves of free agency after none of the linemen they liked fell to them in the draft — but I have flagged McVay’s pre-draft comment that he thinks the team needs a 10-deep at this position. The Rams also need to be certain that Havenstein is back to full health after his shoulder cleanouts this spring.

    Defensive line (6)
    Poona Ford
    Kobie Turner
    Braden Fiske
    Ty Hamilton
    Tyler Davis
    Larrell Murchison

    Hamilton and Davis can back up either Ford or Turner, because of both players’ versatility (though Davis may be better suited to back up Ford at nose tackle).

    Outside linebacker (5)
    Jared Verse
    Byron Young
    Josaiah Stewart
    Nick Hampton
    Brennan Jackson

    As we saw last season with the veteran Michael Hoecht, the Rams want a third pass rusher in consistent rotation for their extra-rusher packages. Stewart seems tailor-made for this role, and Hampton’s speed makes him an intriguing fit too. Jackson is more of a power rusher but coaches will be interested in seeing how he does with an actual training camp to develop (he missed most of last offseason to injury).

    Inside linebacker (4)
    Omar Speights
    Nate Landman
    Chris “Pooh” Paul Jr.
    Troy Reeder

    Something tells me that Paul won’t spend a ton of time waiting in the wings of this position group, but he’ll need a little time to learn the defense well enough to call it as the “green dot.”

    Cornerback (4)
    Darious Williams
    Ahkello Witherspoon
    Cobie Durant
    Emmanuel Forbes

    I could see this group growing if the Rams are able to come to terms with a more manageable contract for Jalen Ramsey, who is available for trade but owed $21 million this year. Also, Ramsey could play in the slot which would help the Rams drop Quentin Lake back to deeper safety to be a field marshal.

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