The 3 undrafted free agents most likely to make the Rams

The 3 undrafted free agents most likely to make the Rams

The 3 undrafted free agents most likely to make the Rams
By: Andrew Ortenberg | 19 hours ago

In addition to their 11 draft picks, the Los Angeles Rams added a slew of undrafted free agents to their rookie class. Some will be little more than camp bodies, but others have a real shot to make the 53-man roster and have an impact on the upcoming season.

Here are the three undrafted rookies with the best shot at making the Rams:

1. Indiana LB Tegray Scales

An inside linebacker from Indiana, Scales is the most high-profile UDFA that the Rams brought in. He was seen by most analysts as an early Day 3 pick and it was one of the bigger surprises of the draft when he wasn’t selected at all.

Scales almost certainly had his pick of teams across the league to sign with, so he must have had a pretty good reason to sign with the Rams. Either the Rams gave him a significant signing bonus or he felt very confident about his odds of making the team/practice squad, or both.

Scales is a bit undersized, but otherwise has all the tools to be a quality inside linebacker in the NFL. Assuming the Rams keep four inside linebackers like they did last year, Scales has a very good chance at making the team. With Alec Ogletree gone, Mark Barron is the only true lock to make the roster at inside linebacker. Penciling in Cory Littleton and rookie fifth-rounder Micah Kiser, whose roster spots are both likely safe, that would leave Scales battling it out with recent signee Ramik Wilson for the final spot.

Wilson is a 2015 fourth-round pick of the Chiefs who played sparingly in Kansas City over the past few seasons. The Rams have no ties to him and won’t hesitate to keep Scales over him if he performs better in camp. With Barron sidelined for most of the offseason after having shoulder surgery, Scales will have plenty of time on the field in OTAs and training camp to prove he belongs. Even if he doesn’t make the initial roster, he has a good shot to be brought back on the practice squad.

2. USC WR Steven Mitchell

The speedy receiver from USC might need a little bit of help, but he has a good shot at being the Rams’ final receiver on the roster. His cause was helped greatly by the recent trade of Tavon Austin.

The Rams kept six receivers last year, so let’s assume they do the same this year. Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods, Brandin Cooks, Josh Reynolds, and Pharoh Cooper are likely locks. That would leave Mitchell, Mike Thomas, Fred Brown, and fellow undrafted rookie LaQuvionte Gonzalez battling it out for the last spot.

Gonzalez seems like a pretty big long shot at this point. Brown is a second-year UDFA who didn’t appear in a game last year. Thomas hasn’t shown much since entering the league, catching just eight passes across two seasons since the Rams took him in the sixth round of the 2016 draft. Given the underwhelming nature of the competition, there’s no reason to think that Mitchell can’t beat out any of those three, as he showed a lot of promise during some injury-plagued years at USC.

Staying healthy has always been Mitchell’s main problem, but if he can avoid injury and stay on the field during training camp, he should have a very good shot becoming the team’s sixth receiver. If not, he’ll be an ideal candidate for a practice squad spot.

3. Oklahoma S Steven Parker

The safety from Oklahoma and college teammate of Rams fourth-rounder Ogbonnia Okoronkwo has the second-best chance to make the team after Scales. The Rams clearly felt they needed additional depth at safety after not taking one in the draft, bringing in three as undrafted free agents, likely with the idea of at least one making the roster.

Of the three, Parker has the best chance. He was a special teams standout at Oklahoma, which will greatly help his chance of making the team as a reserve who ideally wouldn’t be playing any snaps on defense.

Behind starters John Johnson and Lamarcus Joyner, the Rams are thin at safety. Of the other safeties currently on the roster – Blake Countess, Marqui Christian and Isaiah Johnson – Countess likely has the inside track to a roster spot, but the Rams don’t have very deep ties to any of them. Christian and Johnson will certainly be battling for roster spots, and very well could get beat out by any of the three undrafted rookies. At this point, Parker seems to have the best shot.

The bottom line:

Undrafted free agents make teams and go on to have huge impacts every year. With a solid class this year, there’s a very good chance at least one will make the Rams this season. It’s always one of the best stories in all of sports and the undrafted guys fighting for recognition will be one of the more entertaining things to watch during the otherwise sleepy summer months of training camp.