NFL Draft 2021: Top 5 LA Rams prospects from Independent colleges

The LA Rams may have been meeting with two dozen or so prospects, but let’s not kid ourselves. Most of the Rams targets in this draft are not on anyone’s radar. That’s how the Rams like it. Armed with just a six-shooter heading into a draft of hundreds of hungry prospects, the LA Rams need to not only find and choose talented players, but ones who will fit their culture, their lifestyle, their work ethic, their coaching style, and their roster.

And so we plumb the depths of the independents, the colleges that go their own way, do their own thing, and don’t belong to any college conferences. Because there are lunkers to be found a-swimming in these waters, too. And perhaps the Rams drop a few lines into the Notre Dame or BYU waters to find players who will pay future dividends.

Both of these colleges have long and storied track records of being bona fide NFL pipelines, particularly for O-line types. And while it’s certainly true their players may not have nearly as many press clippings or YouTube highlight reels as some of the more heralded players on the draft board,  there’s some extremely solid value to be found here.

The Rams want NFL-capable players and don’t give a rip where they hail from. Just look at the team’s success at finding diamonds-in-the-rough from small schools, independent schools, and even from the Great White North. And so, the team will certainly not leave any stone unturned, no blade of grass untouched. The Rams do an incredible job of finding talent where others don’t look for his. So we look there beforehand.