WinningSystem@WinningSystemFB
Every young coach has watched film like this:

Play 1: good run
Play 2: good pass
Play 3: big gain

Two hours later…
you’ve watched 80 plays and learned nothing.

That’s not film study.

Film study asks:

• Why did it work?
• When do they call it?
• What formation triggers it?

That’s where game plans are built.

Adam Schefter@AdamSchefter
Rashid Shaheed is said to not be close to an extension with the Seahawks and the expectation is that he now will test the free agent market Monday, per sources.

Joe Marino@TheJoeMarino
The Rams have avoided a “collapse” despite trading so many high picks for a number of reasons.

1. The players they’ve traded for have made the expected impact, especially Matthew Stafford.

2. Sean McVay is awesome.

3. They have made the 3rd most total picks in the NFL over the last 5 years. F*** them picks though.

4. THEY HAVE HIT ON DRAFT PICKS. Since 2022:
– WR Puka Nacua R5
– G Steve Avila R2
– RT Warren McLendon R5
– RB Kyren Williams R5
– DL Braden Fiske R2
– DL Kobie Turner R3
– EDGE Byron Young R3
– EDGE Jared Verse R1
– SAF Kam Kinchens R3
– DB Quentin Lake R6
– CB Cobie Durant R4
– P Ethan Evans R7

– Not to mention LT Alaric Jackson and LB Omar Speights were meaningful UDFAs
– 2025 picks like TE Terrance Ferguson and EDGE Josiah Stewart are also both very promising.

Have there been misses? Absolutely. But the volume of picks has mattered, and the collapse hasn’t been avoided because they have neglected key young players. They are experts at finding them and implementing them.

InvaderRam wrote:

Zooey wrote:

I don’t love it.

i don’t know what to make of it. if he’s a first team all pro this season, then i’ll be happy.

i read that he is signing a long term contract if he is traded. at first i thought it was a one and done. with a long term deal i might feel differently.

No this is not a one and done rental…negotiating a longterm deal was part of the trade.

James Palmer@JamesPalmerTV
I asked Pat Surtain during training camp, “You’re the best CB in the NFL. Who’s film do you watch?”

He told me: Derek Stingley. Trent McDuffie.

Trent McDuffie is heading to LA

McDuffie is a physical corner who can stick to the WRs, inside and out. A TWO time All-Pro at 25 years old. A 2023 1st Team All Pro.

The Rams are “all in” and on the verge of adding a much needed top notch CB. 2026 is already underway! Horns UP pic.twitter.com/qCzE0Ajbaf

— RAMS ON FILM (@RamsOnFilm) March 4, 2026

Adam Schefter@AdamSchefter
Full trade, per source:

Rams receive:
🏈CB Trent McDuffie

Chiefs receive:
🏈1st-round pick, No. 29
🏈5th
🏈6th
🏈2027- 3rd

Peter Schrager@PSchrags
Trent McDuffie played for Rams defensive coach Jimmy Lake at Washington, fits the team’s biggest defensive need, and is from Los Angeles. LA still holds on to the 13 pick, without being forced to draft a corner. From LA side, a whole lot to like about this deal.

Spotrac@spotrac
CB Trent McDuffie
2026: $13.623M (gtd)

DraftKings Network@DKNetwork
Trent McDuffie in his first four seasons:

34 pass deflections
12 TFLs
8 forced fumbles
3 INTs
2023 1st-team All-Pro
2024 2nd-team All-Pro

Jourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigue
Trent McDuffie gives Rams a really solid presence on the outside. They love to load up in nickel and dime but with safeties these days; having a top CB who can hold down the perimeter allows them to keep the math on their side (although he could kick inside in a pinch).

They shouldn’t be done at this position yet either, whether FA or draft, particularly for the perimeter spots.

Mina Kimes@minakimes
Rams address their most glaring need and hold onto pick 13–McDuffie lets them play more man, has elite tackling ability, and bring inside-out versatility….guessing he plays mostly outside for them but kicks in situationally.

James Palmer@JamesPalmerTV
Trent McDuffie can play inside and outside. Is great against the run. There really isn’t anything he can’t do.

“I credit @DeMarcusWare. He changed the way I looked at football”- Trent Williams

Trent Williams is one of the best athletes to play left tackle, but the NFL transition wasn’t cake. He never had to study film in college but Demarcus Ware changed that. Then, a prime time match up… pic.twitter.com/LQu47uOqHR

— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) March 3, 2026

Rams big board: First-round focus on defensive backs and wide receivers

Nate Atkins

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7074165/2026/02/28/rams-2026-nfl-draft-big-board/?source=emp_shared_article&unlocked_article_code=1.QFA.rXHA.p9Uqm0JsE3Tc&smid=ta-ios-share

INDIANAPOLIS — The Los Angeles Rams are through the NFL Scouting Combine, an event they barely participate in. They are two months away from the start of the NFL Draft, and this year is a big one for them with 10 total picks and two first-round selections, a clear departure from their recent norms.

With picks 13 and 29, the focus of this first 2026 big board will be on first-round options. We’ll split it into a few tiers, from dream scenarios down to fallback options.

Let’s get to it.

Tier 1: Home run swings

Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame: This is bold, not only because Love is unlikely to fall to No. 13 but because the Rams already have two running backs, Kyren Williams and Blake Corum, they like and have invested in, as well as a third in Jarquez Hunter, who they stashed as a 2025 fourth-round pick.

But if there’s an improvement out there for the Rams, it’s in a big-play machine like Love. He brought that with impressive consistency at Notre Dame, topping 1,100 yards and scoring at least 17 rushing touchdowns in each of the past two seasons. Love also had 55 total catches and five receiving touchdowns in that span. He’d be the definition of a luxury pick here, and it’s therefore unlikely but not impossible.

Mansoor Delane, CB, LSU: The Rams’ top need is clearly outside cornerback. If they have a lane to the best option in this year’s draft, that’d be a home run. Delane is receiving those kinds of rave reviews after he totaled six interceptions the past two seasons between Virginia Tech and LSU.

At a listed 6 feet, 190 pounds, he brings the press-man coverage skills and break-on-the-ball ability to be scheme-versatile. He could be the Rams’ best shot at finding a true lockdown No. 1 outside corner.

Sonny Styles, LB, Ohio State: The Rams’ defensive concerns are mostly tied to the secondary, but they have a spot to upgrade at linebacker potentially. Styles could be that upgrade after he ran a blistering 4.46-second 40-yard dash at the combine to back up the 182 tackles and 17 tackles for loss he piled up on an elite Ohio State defense over the past two seasons.

Styles can thump in the run game and stick with fast tight ends in man coverage, which is what the Rams would need if they want another stalwart playing next to Nate Landman on the second level.

Carnell Tate, WR, Ohio State: Similar to running back, this would be a bit of a luxury pick with how established the Rams’ top two options are, but they need a No. 3 receiver to replace the role they originally planned for Tutu Atwell — as well as a successor to Davante Adams, who enters a contract year at age 33.

Tate produced well but not off the charts at Ohio State, where he topped 700 yards in each of the past two seasons and scored nine touchdowns last year. But he was also playing sidekick to the phenom that is Jeremiah Smith. At 6-foot-3, 195 pounds, Tate profiles as a future No. 1 option but could find a great home in Los Angeles as a No. 2 to Puka Nacua.

Makai Lemon, WR, USC: Tate and Lemon are in a battle to be the top receiver taken in this year’s draft, so landing either one still feels like a high-end outcome for a team drafting No. 13. The Rams could keep Lemon in Los Angeles and develop him in that No. 3 role in Year 1 that expands in Year 2, and he can provide instant value given his strong blocking to answer for the deficiency that kept Atwell off the field when the Rams did play in 11 personnel.

Lemon broke out with 1,156 yards and 11 receiving touchdowns last season. So, unlike Tate, he has already faced the burden of playing as a team’s No. 1 option.

Tier 2: Great talent with a caveat

Francis Mauigoa, OT, Miami: A year ago, it looked like the Rams were headed for a first-round offensive tackle pick to replace an aging Rob Havenstein. He indeed retired this offseason, but Los Angeles found a promising replacement in 2023 fifth-rounder Warren McClendon Jr., who is also entering a contract year.

So drafting a tackle high this year is about chasing a higher ceiling on a rookie-contract clock, and that’s where Mauigoa’s case lives. He made 42 career starts at Miami as a mauler for one of the most physical offenses that finished in the national championship game. If he’s the second tackle selected in this draft, that could be a justification for the Rams to make an upgrade and bump McClendon to a swing tackle role they also need to fill.

Jermod McCoy, CB, Tennessee: This fit is cleaner on paper, to be clear. McCoy fits like a glove for many of the same reasons Delane does. He’s a playmaker with two schools of evidence after intercepting six total passes at Oregon State and Tennessee in 2023 and 2024. He’s 6 feet, 193 pounds, and built to play press man and make plays in zone coverage.

The only question is whether he’s ready to fill the Rams’ CB1 role right away. If he’s part of a multi-player plan to address the position, the fit becomes even stronger.

Jordyn Tyson, WR, Arizona State: As the Rams look at possible No. 3 receiver options who can blossom into a No. 2 in a year, Tyson will be on the radar. At 6-foot-2, 200 pounds with experience in different alignments, he checks several boxes in the receiving game. He showed that upside with 1,101 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2024 and on a per-game basis last year with 711 yards and nine touchdowns in nine games.

Tyson dealt with a few injuries that cost him a few games and might have affected his run blocking, which will be a real focus for this position.

Dillon Thieneman, S, Oregon: The Rams’ second biggest need is arguably safety, but it’s going to require the right fit to capitalize on the versatility of Quentin Lake. That’s why Caleb Downs isn’t on this list, despite how great he is. With Kam Curl headed to free agency, the Rams have an opening for a starter, and versatility and readiness would help fill that void.

Thieneman projects that way, having posted six interceptions at Purdue before his transfer to Oregon, as well as enough size at 6 feet, 205 pounds to handle run defense. His versatility could feel slightly stifled in this busy safety room, but it also means he won’t be overextended as a rookie.

Tier 3: Back-end first round options

Ty Simpson, QB, Alabama: The Rams don’t need a quarterback right now, thanks to rostering the league’s MVP in Matthew Stafford, but they will before long. Stafford announced that he’s coming back for an 18th season at age 38, but the realistic window could shrink soon. If Los Angeles is going to try the stash route with a quarterback for Sean McVay and new assistant head coach Kliff Kingsbury to develop, Simpson has potential.

He essentially carried the Crimson Tide to the second round of the College Football Playoff with 3,567 passing yards, 28 touchdowns and five interceptions. He started just one season in college, so he needs seasoning. His traits aren’t elite, but he offers a good mix. He could start as a backup to Stafford as a rookie and then wait patiently for his time.

Monroe Freeling, OT, Georgia: The threshold for what counts as a right tackle improvement over McClendon will be key in scouting the rest of this class. In readiness, Freeling might not jump off the tape with just 17 career starts, but they came at an elite level of play and in a strong development system.

His 6-foot-7, 315-pound frame suggests there’s more to unpack in time. McClendon gives the Rams an option to have a starter ready at right tackle if a talented rookie needs just a little seasoning. Whether that dips into a strong future investment or more of a luxury pick for a team with title aspirations depends on how soon he can put it together.

Malachi Fields, WR, Notre Dame: As the Rams scout wide receiver prospects, Fields could stand out as a solid, classic boundary option with just a lower ceiling than Tate, Lemon or Tyson.

At 6-foot-4, 218 pounds, he could eventually take over for the classic outside role Adams runs. He had at least 630 receiving yards and five touchdowns in each of his final three college seasons between Virginia and Notre Dame.

Blake Miller, OT, Clemson: A tackle who fits a little in between the profiles of Mauigoa and Freeling. Miller brings a lot of experience with 54 career starts, and it shows in a balanced game that doesn’t quite pop as a pass protector the way Mauigoa’s does.

But at 6-foot-6, 315 pounds, he moves well in space and can fit the different run schemes the Rams like to deploy. Los Angeles will tap into offensive linemen somewhere in this draft with contracts coming due, and the second pick in the first round could be a reasonable spot for the right one.

Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, S, Toledo: If Curl isn’t back, the Rams could use a more traditional strong safety type who specializes in run defense. That’s McNeil-Warren’s game at 6-foot-2, 202 pounds, as he showed off with 77 tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss for Toledo last season.

He’s serviceable but a little more limited against the pass, but that can fit well next to Lake and with Kamren Kinchens guarding for deep-threat speed over the top.

Avieon Terrell, CB, Clemson: One more first-round option at cornerback is Terrell. At 5-foot-11, 180 pounds, he doesn’t have the classic outside frame of Delane or McCoy, but he has experience playing there and brings a great athletic profile with the bloodlines of his brother, Atlanta Falcons cornerback A.J. Terrell.

Avieon Terrell is trying to become the second cornerback from his family to be drafted in the first round. His best fit is likely in rotation from outside to inside, which would need to align well with Lake’s strong play in the slot. That could work if Curl leaves and the door opens for Lake to play more at strong safety, like a nickel on the opposite side of Terrell.

Zooey wrote:

Gary Klein@LATimesklein
McVay on Aubrey Pleasant: “…just felt like it was going to be in the best interest of both parties to be able to move on. “

In other words… the definitive answer to the question about Pleasant is, “we”re sorry but there is no one here at this time to take your call.”

Zooey wrote:

Listened to a 10-minute segment on 9ers radio station this afternoon fretting about a piece Albert Breer wrote speculating on Maxx Crosby trade destinations. Apparently the Rams were one of three (?) teams he thought Crosby might get traded to.

I don’t like the idea. I would rather have them pay their own developing FAs with their not-all-that-great-when-you-think-about-it cap space. Crosby would cost picks and big cap space.