roster countdown & team building issues, 2023

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There are 44 (!!!) new players on the Rams' roster this year. Here are all of them, along with how they got here and their roster projection heading into camp. https://t.co/AFQDh6B2Bq

— Cameron DaSilva (@camdasilva) July 19, 2023

[zn]

Rodrigue: Rams can learn lessons about the past, present from 2 position changes

By Jourdan Rodrigue

https://theathletic.com/4752170/2023/08/07/rams-position-changes-hoecht-bruss/?source=emp_shared_article

IRVINE, Calif. — Whatever the Los Angeles Rams will, or won’t, call the 2023 season, it is most definitely a year to correct past mistakes with an eye on the future. After all, the stakes aren’t what they usually are for this team. What better time to evaluate the entire ecosystem, top to bottom?

With a roster full of inexperienced players whose respective roles will emerge over the next weeks and months, there is actually a lesson to be learned for the team’s leaders in the example of two recent position changes: That of Michael Hoecht from defensive tackle to outside linebacker, and Logan Bruss from guard to right tackle.

Both moves were unplanned, and initially made out of necessity. In 2022, the Rams ran out of healthy and available outside linebackers to play across from Leonard Floyd. Hoecht, who was mostly a core special-teamer and reserve interior defensive lineman, was thrown into the lineup at outside linebacker midseason and began this year’s training camp as a starter at the position.

“They started talking to me about it when we were playing the Saints (in Week 11),” Hoecht told The Athletic. “They were like, ‘we’re gonna teach you this, (and) the very bare-bones of the defense.’ I think I had two snaps that game. I guess they liked the two snaps, so coming into Kansas City they said, ‘You know, we’re gonna get you in for 10-11 snaps,’ … then Terrell Lewis went down. I ended up playing 60-something snaps that game, and from there it was like, ‘you’re our guy right now, because you’re all we got left, and we’re gonna teach you this at hyper-speed.’ ”

Bruss was drafted at No. 104 in 2022 to immediately plug into the Rams’ open spot at right guard. It wasn’t his dominant position in college, where he mostly played right tackle. But the Rams found themselves drafting specifically for need at guard with their first pick in that year’s draft, because they did not re-sign starter Austin Corbett in free agency that offseason. Corbett signed a three-year, $26.25 million contract with the Carolina Panthers while the Rams tried, and failed, to extend outside linebacker Von Miller on a massive deal and then re-allocated some of those resources to receiver Allen Robinson and inside linebacker Bobby Wagner — neither of whom are still on the roster. They also spent significant funds on the re-worked contracts of quarterback Matthew Stafford, defensive tackle Aaron Donald and receiver Cooper Kupp.

Bruss was limited in his rookie spring OTAs, and then suffered an ACL and MCL tear while playing guard in the preseason that required a serious repair and sidelined him for the entire 2022 season. He refers to the surgery as “getting a new knee” because of how dramatic a procedure it was, and because he had to re-learn how to move during rehab.

Now, he’s playing right tackle — where he played the vast majority of his snaps in college — and like Hoecht, the switch happened out of necessity.

Veteran starter Rob Havenstein was excused for part of OTAs this spring, and two others who could have filled in for Havenstein — tackles Joe Noteboom and Alaric Jackson — weren’t practicing. Versatile rookie Warren McClendon was dealing with a knee issue. So on the last day of OTAs, minus anybody who could rep at the first-team right tackle spot, the coaching staff threw in Bruss.

“Definitely wasn’t something I expected at the time,” Bruss told The Athletic. He impressed head coach Sean McVay there, and has worked at right tackle ever since (behind Havenstein) including into training camp.

“Jake Temme (the Rams’ director of data and analytics), I gotta give him some credit, (he said Bruss) had played 17 percent of his snaps at guard at Wisconsin, but 83 percent of them at tackle,” McVay said this week. “He looks more comfortable out there. That’s probably where he’ll stay for now. He can always potentially bump inside.”

The two examples of Hoecht and Bruss, although their position changes were borne out of necessity, aren’t just potential teach-tape for the people in the front office, but also for the coaching staff: What series of events led to “necessity”? Were any of those events controllable (such as free agency and draft decisions, and their interconnected ripple effect), or not (such as injuries)? When forced to adjust, and then to upload a lot of information in a very short amount of time to a player, how did the teaching change?

Is it possible to avoid the “desperation” part of a “desperation pivot”?

These are the types of questions a team in the Rams’ current state should ask, and likely is asking. Along with, “can they evolve all of their processes to find more answers to more potential questions, if they are serious about this (redacted) that they’re attempting this season?”

For Hoecht, a former undrafted free agent, volunteering to do anything and everything before he became a likely starter — and then taking ownership of every new task — is also even a tangible example for new players hoping to find a role this year. Because, well, there are definitely opportunities to be seized.

“I was going to find any role possible,” he said. “A lot of the young guys, we’ve got a lot of rookies on the team (and) a lot of guys are going to be fighting for jobs. Special teams is always one of those good spots. I think they do a really good job here (where) if you can produce on special teams, you can hang around great coaches and a great organization. They’ll work with you, and you can develop yourself into a good player. Was I good enough to be starting when I first came in? Probably not. But I stuck around in the system and kept going, kept working with the coaches. … You just gotta find a job.”

Along the offensive line as a whole, it’s obvious where corrections to previous decisions are happening even beyond Bruss’ return to right tackle. For example, this offseason McVay fired previous offensive line coach Kevin Carberry after two years with the team, and then hired a new offensive line coach, Ryan Wendell, who is inexperienced as a coach but played center in the NFL for eight years. Further, allowing a legitimate competition at left tackle between young player Alaric Jackson and the more experienced (yet often-injured) Joe Noteboom is notable because the Rams paid Noteboom to take over the role full-time last year — yet still haven’t predetermined it to be his guaranteed job now. Same at center, where Coleman Shelton is giving Brian Allen a run for his money to be the 2023 starter. The Rams also drafted Steve Avila at No. 36 this spring and are currently playing him at guard almost exclusively in training camp (one of his dominant positions).

The latter point can be a huge relief to a young player. An offensive lineman playing a position in the NFL that he was used to in college is like attending graduate school in a language he already speaks, versus a language he isn’t fluent in. Bruss’ history at tackle means that he doesn’t have to hesitate as much in live action, or overthink things, especially coming off a major injury — even while he is still getting challenged to develop at the position at the NFL level. It’s not exactly a “comfort zone,” but it’s not inviting needless barriers into a player’s development.

“It’s the type of thing, a lot of people who don’t play O-line, they might see guard and tackle as these interchangeable positions, and in my mind, there’s a big difference,’ ” Bruss said. “Obviously there is no substitute for thousands and thousands of repetitions at it in college. … And I think a big part of O-line play is confidence, too.”

The trajectories of Hoecht and Bruss are only two examples to learn from for a front office and coaching staff that will have to be corrective — quickly — and agile as they figure out their best way forward with over 40 new players.

Unlike with Hoecht and Bruss, this year, trying players in different roles and thinking outside of the box doesn’t have to only happen out of desperation. One silver lining of the season ahead — that a forward-thinking group would maximize — is that a roster with so many young players on their first contracts also means there is more room to simply try things. In past years, players were specifically selected either in free agency or the draft to complement the elite traits of a veteran, top-heavy core group of stars. Sure, that strategy worked out — to the tune of a Super Bowl — but that’s simply not where this roster is anymore, and a rigid mindset can’t be, either.

“There’s a lot of competition, a lot of things that we’re trying to really be able to figure out,” McVay said. “That’s why we’ve got to be able to take that approach, whether it be with the preseason or in some of these practice settings. But it has been fun to be able to see guys have the ability to move around, whether it be by necessity or because we feel like it would be the best spot for them.”

[wv]

I love J.R. but I’m not exactly, totally sure there was really a theme tying all that together.   I mean, it just sounded like ‘the Rams are working on improving personnel decisions and processes’.    Well….duh.   So is every other team.

 

 

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The Rams dropped their first depth chart of 2023, which lists Steve Avila as the starting LG and Byron Young as a starting OLB. Tutu Atwell is WR3, too.

Jackson/Noteboom and Allen/Shelton are co-starters at LT and C, respectively. https://t.co/N4oPCxAapz

— Cameron DaSilva (@camdasilva) August 8, 2023

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Rams Depth Chart pic.twitter.com/HR3UDoF1bs

— Cornell (@gqscholar) August 8, 2023

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https://twitter.com/gqscholar/status/1689060428482060288/photo/2

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https://twitter.com/gqscholar/status/1689060428482060288/photo/1

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https://twitter.com/gqscholar/status/1689060428482060288/photo/3

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John Johnson’s return to Rams is latest move in scaled-back free agency approach. The Rams have added five veterans at a total cost of just over $5 million. https://t.co/Yzpsr4IBfc

— Gary Klein (@LATimesklein) August 9, 2023

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Les Snead says the Rams are using this year to reset before getting back to “doing exactly what we have done in the past” in 2024 https://t.co/7oRA642CnY

— Rams Wire (@TheRamsWire) August 10, 2023

[canadaram]

As someone who has an illogical obsession with the NFL Draft, my only hope is that the Rams hold onto their first round pick in 2024. I don’t care if the Bengals offer them Burrow and Chase for the first round pick, I want to experience the highs and lows of the Rams picking in the first round. It’s been too long.

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ESPN ranked the Rams’ roster as the worst in the NFL for the 2023 season, largely because of the shaky defense https://t.co/t9RnExf7t7

— Rams Wire (@TheRamsWire) August 12, 2023

…

from link above

ESPN’s Mike Clay went position by position and ranked every team accordingly, weighing each position based on importance; quarterback is clearly more valuable than running back. In the overall rankings, no team finished lower than the Rams. Not even the Arizona Cardinals, who are widely viewed as the worst team in the NFL for 2023.

Here’s where the Rams ranked at each position:

QB: 15
RB: 29
WR: 25
TE: 21
OL: 30
Interior DL: 11
EDGE: 32
Off-ball LB: 32
CB: 32
Safety: 29

…

from https://www.espn.com/nfl/insider/insider/story/_/id/38129445/ranking-2023-nfl-position-groups-best-worst-team-units-quarterback-receiver

Shakiest roster: Los Angeles Rams

The Rams have no regrets in how they managed to win the Lombardi Trophy, but the check has come due for all the picks they traded away for short-term boosts. I’m not exaggerating when I say that this defense is the shakiest and most unproven I’ve seen on paper since entering this industry.

Six defenders played 700-plus (67%) snaps for this team last season and none remain on the roster. In fact, Jones (693) and Donald (593) are the only players remaining who played more than half the snaps. Incredibly, the Rams didn’t sign a notable veteran replacement until August (safety John Johnson III) and will rely on rookies and recent Day 3 fliers for a majority of their defensive snaps. It’s hard to imagine this not being the league’s worst defense … and that’s with superstar Donald in the fold.

The offensive line is also problematic, which means big rebound seasons from 35-year-old QB Matthew Stafford and 30-year-old WR Cooper Kupp and a historic coaching job from Sean McVay will be what this team needs to compete for a wild-card spot. If not, there’s a good chance Los Angeles will be locking down its QB of the future with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2024 NFL draft.

But luckily for the Rams, they aren’t the only team with an underwhelming roster, as divisional foe Arizona Cardinals nearly tie them for this spot.

[zn]

2023 Breakout Candidates: 3rd Year Players

J.B. Long

https://www.therams.com/news/rams-breakout-candidates-3rd-year-players-2021-draft-class

How you view the 2023 Los Angeles Rams is likely to be correlated with your opinion of their third-year players – probably more than any other class.

When I looked down the list of candidates to have a breakout season, I kept saying “yes.” They all should have the best year of their careers. There’s no reason any of them wouldn’t be poised to outperform their track record to date.

But is that an indictment of their contributions through two years, particularly for a 2022 team that could’ve used much more? Or is it a sign that their moment is now, and that we have seen enough to know they’re capable of assuming larger roles?

In some instances, it’s a matter of opportunity. In others, health. Or position change. Or even a change of scenery.

For all the reasons, these are players the Rams are counting on if the team is going blow past external expectations.

The Short List:

**WR Ben Skowronek**
Ben Skowronek
#18 WR

Height: 6-3
Weight: 224 lbs
College: Notre Dame

Ben Skowronek – Can last year’s most improved Ram take another step in the right direction? One reason for skepticism could be the crowding of the receiver room, with new draft pick Puka Nacua and veteran free agents Tyler Johnson and Demarcus Robinson. But that would pigeonhole Skowronek as a receiver, when we know he’s so much more.

**DB Robert Rochell**
Robert Rochell
#8 DB

Height: 6-2
Weight: 195 lbs
College: Central Arkansas
Robert Rochell – This feels like a make-or-break moment in Rochell’s career as a Ram. Either he steps through that open door and locks down a starting role at corner for a defense that desperately needs him to do just that, or…

No one ever said he was going to be the next Jalen Ramsey. But we did compare his physical toolkit to that of Ramsey. And now that the All-Pro corner is rehabilitating a preseason knee injury with the Miami Dolphins, it’s understandable why there are a lot of eyes on Rochell this month.

**TE Hunter Long**
Hunter Long
#84 TE

Height: 6-5
Weight: 253 lbs
College: Boston College
Hunter Long – In return for Ramsey, the Rams acquired the services of Long. Perhaps a change of coast will ignite his pro career. The front office in Los Angeles clearly was interested in him as a tight end prospect coming out of Boston College in 2021. A summer injury meant a late start to training camp. But once Long’s off the PUP (physically unable to perform) list, it won’t take many snaps or targets to surpass his NFL totals through two years.

**LB Ernest Jones**
Ernest Jones
#53 LB

Height: 6-2
Weight: 230 lbs
College: South Carolina
Ernest Jones – When he started at times throughout his rookie season and sacked Joe Burrow in the Super Bowl, it looked like Jones would be the Rams primary inside linebacker indefinitely. Through no fault of his own, that plan was postponed for a year-long apprenticeship under future Hall of Famer Bobby Wagner. (Jones still played 66 percent of snaps in 2022.)

Now Jones is the man in the middle. He’s wearing the green dot for the Rams defense and set to make up for lost time. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him voted captain at the end of the summer, and told us on Inside Rams Camp how much that honor would mean to him.

**WR Tutu Atwell**
Tutu Atwell
#5 WR

Height: 5-9
Weight: 165 lbs
College: Louisville
Tutu Atwell – Picked a round before Jones in the Rams 2021 NFL Draft, it’s equally Tutu’s time. Why it’s taken this long is a conversation for another space, but there’s ample optimism that it will be worth the wait in the end.

If training camp is any indication, it’s clicked for Atwell and the Rams. He’s becoming a more complete threat.

I expect Tutu to surpass his career receiving totals this season… hopefully, before the bye week.

**OT Alaric Jackson**
Alaric Jackson
#77 OL

Height: 6-7
Weight: 285 lbs
College: Iowa
Alaric Jackson – In word and deed, Jackson has been a man on a mission. He got a taste of starting at two positions last season – guard and tackle –and his performance left all of us wanting to see more. Unfortunately, his heath did not cooperate.

Thankfully, the blood clotting scare that truncated his 2022 has been resolved as he wages one of the summer’s best position battles. Whether or not he prevails versus Joe Noteboom at left tackle, Jackson will figure into the Rams offensive line plans this season. If his game is as bold and brash as his social media feed, L.A. will be mauling opposing defenses again in no time.

**LB Michael Hoecht**
Michael Hoecht
#97 OLB

Height: 6-4
Weight: 310 lbs
College: Brown
Michael Hoecht – The biggest question mark on the entire roster is on the edge, where the Rams are set to throw numbers at the problem. Thankfully, math has always been Hoecht’s strong suit. You name the role on the defensive front, he’s solved for it. Now the Ivy League-educated calculus tutor will try his hand at outside linebacker and has grown the biceps to look the part.

Hoecht checks a lot of boxes: he’s experienced, sharp, athletic, and motivated to capitalize on a new challenge. And based on his prior positions, he should be equally adept at stacking up perimeter runs as pinning his ears back to get to the quarterback.

**DT Bobby Brown III**

Reserve/Suspended By Commissioner
Bobby Brown III
#95 NT

Height: 6-4
Weight: 324 lbs
College: Texas A&M
Bobby Brown III – It dawned on me this spring that the most overlooked player on the Rams roster happens to be 6-foot-4 and 325 pounds.

On the few occasions we’ve seen Brown in the middle of the defensive front, he’s looked like a human forklift. And there’s an A’Shawn Robinson-sized void in the middle of the Rams defense this year.

They’re going to need an early-down run-stuffer right away with this schedule: Seattle, San Francisco, Cincinnati, Indianapolis (we’ll see about the Colts running back situation, but look out for their rookie QB for sure), and of course, Philadelphia… buckle up on the interior.

Final Answer: Again, it feels almost unnecessary to single out one of these men when the Rams need them all to break out to unlock the team’s full potential. But that’s the drill.
…

Jones is the surest bet as an entrenched starter, so I shouldn’t take him.

Tutu’s got the explosive highlight reel potential. Hoecht has at least temporarily filled the biggest need on the roster. Jackson’s got just the right disposition to help this Rams offensive line bounce back in a big way, and would be a nice hedge on my prior pick of Joe Noteboom.

[zn]

From McVay's media avail today…McVay is seeing 5-6 WR for the game day active roster.

Our projection:
Cooper Kupp🔒
Van Jefferson 🔒
TuTu Atwell 🔒
Puka Nucua 🔒

Ben Skowronek 🤔
DeMarcus Robinson🤔
Tyler Johnson 🤔
Xavier Smith 😬
Lance McCutcheon 😬

— East Coast Rams Pod (@EastCoastRams) August 21, 2023

[zn]

This seems like a decent thread for this point. Below are the Rams 5th-7th round picks. I highlight the ones who are getting anywhere from good to very good buzz (way beyond normal hype). It’s still early obviously and yet, not bad at this point for 5th-7th round picks!

2023 5 Warren McClendon
2023 5 Davis Allen
2023 5 Puka Nacua
2023 6 Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson
2023 6 Ochaun Mathis
2023 6 Zach Evans
2023 7 Ethan Evans
2023 7 Jason Taylor
2023 7 Desjuan Johnson

..

Some comments:

RAMS ON FILM@RamsOnFilm
@TreTomlinson seems to be already paving his own path into the league. The rookie has had a impressive camp and preseason thus far.

Jourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigue
Kicking coach Jimmy Rafter is in the crowd today timing punts (and teaching me a lot). He calls what Ethan Evans is doing to the ball right now “superhero type stuff”.
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Cameron DaSilva@camdasilva
Only one punter in the NFL has a higher PFF grade than Rams rookie Ethan Evans this preseason: Corey Bojorquez Evans has hit some booming punts and while the hangtime could be better, the kid has some serious power

Los Angeles Rams@RamsNFL
Eight targets. Eight catches. @davisallen17 had himself a day.

[zn]

As teams trim their rosters from 90 down to 53 by Tuesday, 1,184 @NFL players will get released, put on an injured list, or traded.

— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) August 26, 2023

[zn]

Predicting the Rams’ 53-man roster ahead of this week’s cutdowns

Jourdan Rodrigue

https://theathletic.com/4808834/2023/08/27/la-rams-53-man-roster-projection-final/?source=emp_shared_article

The Los Angeles Rams are finally through their preseason, and all eyes turn to roster cutdowns. They have to be at 53 players by 1 p.m. PT on Tuesday.

Below is my best shot at predicting their 53-man roster. Keep in mind: As the Rams are so tight against the salary cap this year, some depth veteran players could be cut (so their full salary isn’t guaranteed) and then brought back after Week 1. Further, the initial 53-man roster often goes through additional churn in the first couple of weeks of the season.

Unlike other projections I do through the year, this is reflective of what I believe the depth chart will look like as well:

Quarterbacks (2)
Matthew Stafford, Stetson Bennett

It would be ideal for the Rams to be able to keep just two spots on their initial 53-man roster for quarterbacks. Brett Rypien, currently the No. 3 quarterback in Los Angeles, could be a reasonable emergency option but in a best-case scenario the Rams are able to stash someone on their practice squad.

Bennett played very poorly in Saturday’s loss to Denver. He threw two interceptions in less than two quarters, before he was pulled and Rypien replaced him (Rypien didn’t play all that great either). But it’s important to remember that the Rams evaluate every player’s entire body of work in practices, meetings and games and not just the latter.

Offensive linemen (9)
Alaric Jackson, Steve Avila, Coleman Shelton, Joe Noteboom, Rob Havenstein, Tremayne Anchrum (RG/LG), Brian Allen, Logan Bruss (RT/LT), Warren McClendon (RT/LT)

Actually, Bruss is a little bit of a wild card here. He is a 2022 third-round pick, but still relearning how to play tackle in the NFL after the Rams initially tried him out of position at guard and then he suffered a season-ending injury in the 2022 preseason. It might be harder to sneak through a third-rounder than, say, a second-year seventh-rounder such as AJ Arcuri. Let me be clear, I think the Rams should keep Arcuri. But much about this cut day is reflective of balancing the math and guessing on waivers/practice squad.

As I have been reporting and writing for a couple of weeks (and general manager Les Snead all but confirmed on the Rams-affiliated broadcast Saturday night), the Rams are currently planning to try Noteboom out at right guard when he’s healthy.

Tight ends (4)
Tyler Higbee, Brycen Hopkins, Hunter Long, Davis Allen

Look at that, the Rams suddenly have depth at tight end after Long came off PUP on Saturday. Keeping four tight ends is a rarity for head coach Sean McVay, but I can’t see them cutting either Long or Allen. The fact that all four players can be mismatches in the pass game helps with their receiver numbers.

Running backs (4)
Cam Akers, Kyren Williams, Ronnie Rivers, Zach Evans

Akers and Williams had outstanding camps. Rivers impressed enough to keep an advantage over Evans on the depth chart, for now, and was a bright spot in the preseason games. Rivers can also return kicks and punts. While Evans has seemed like a fringe player so far this preseason, he’s also a draft pick and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Rams are more focused on his second-year development than what he can do in 2023.

Wide receivers (6)
Cooper Kupp, Van Jefferson, Tutu Atwell, Puka Nacua, Ben Skowronek, Demarcus Robinson

Atwell and Nacua could eventually be considered WR3 and WR3B. Robinson had an outstanding first few weeks of camp, but didn’t finish the preseason as strongly as Tyler Johnson (or so it appeared), but he can also be an emergency option for Jefferson because of his ability as an X receiver and he can line up in other spots as well. I do think they’ll eventually bring Johnson (or if it’s the other way around, Robinson) back after their initial 53-man is established. Skowronek gives them depth at all of the receiving spots and will probably be a core special teamer, even though his role in the offense seems to have diminished. Nacua and Williams (the running back) can return punts but I wouldn’t totally rule out the Rams surprising us and keeping one additional receiver for this job. In my projection, the numbers balance better with this group I have listed.

Defensive linemen (6)
Aaron Donald, Kobie Turner, Jonah Williams, Bobby Brown III, Earnest Brown IV, Marquise Copeland

OK, this group is tougher to figure out than you’d think — in large part because they are one of the biggest areas of concern on the roster and I would think that the front office scours the waiver wire for veteran support. Rookie Desjuan Johnson could also be an under-the-radar addition and really popped Saturday night against the Broncos in the second quarter (but he also may be very returnable to the practice squad, through waivers). It seemed apparent that Larrell Murchison and Copeland were competing for one of the final spots because they both played deep into the game. Johnson looked better than both of them during Saturday’s game, so the question becomes more about the types of skill sets required on the defensive line and general roster math.

Outside linebackers (5)
Byron Young, Michael Hoecht, Daniel Hardy, Nick Hampton, Ochaun Mathis*

Mathis (knee) could potentially start the season on injured reserve with a return-to-play designation, but in order to do so he has to make the initial 53-man roster. Depending on how Mathis’ situation shakes out, Keir Thomas or Zach VanValkenburg may end up getting a spot. This is also a position at which the Rams will likely be paying attention to other teams’ cuts.

Inside linebackers (3)
Ernest Jones, Christian Rozeboom, Jake Hummel

The last spots for linebackers and safeties get tricky because these players must also contribute on special teams. Rozeboom and Hummel both play special teams, so this math may work out.

If the Rams keep four inside linebackers, I can see DeAndre Square (who wore the green dot to open Saturday night’s game) making the roster, especially for special teams. Square wore the green dot in the Rams’ final preseason game, so that makes me believe he might have an edge if the Rams keep four.

Three inside linebackers seems thin, but remember, safety Quentin Lake has been playing a ton of dime linebacker through training camp. That seems relevant to each respective position count.

Safeties (5)
Jordan Fuller, Russ Yeast, John Johnson III, Quentin Lake, Jason Taylor II

The Rams could totally keep more than five safeties, especially for special teams, and if they do I think Tanner Ingle and Quindell Johnson are strong candidates. Taylor has been working through a psoas injury, so this is something to monitor.

Cornerbacks (6)
Cobie Durant, Ahkello Witherspoon, Derion Kendrick, Tre Tomlinson, Shaun Jolly, Robert Rochell

Jolly can play the “Star” position and the Rams really need depth there (they are even training a couple of safeties for the role).

I have been really impressed with undrafted free agent Cam McCutcheon, who has the length they are generally lacking at cornerback and who has demonstrated he is a willing tackler as well as a developing outside cornerback. Rochell had an opportunity to seize command of an outside spot when Kendrick was recovering from a hamstring injury but his play has continued to fluctuate. Still, he can play on special teams and has made a couple of solid plays there in practice. We’ll see how this group shakes out, and I have Rochell still listed here because of his general experience and his special teams ability.

Specialists (3)
Ethan Evans, Tanner Brown, Alex Ward

When the punter is the silver lining of the preseason, that’s … something.

[Author]

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