LA Rams UDFAs will be vital for Super Bowl season

The LA Rams roster includes just one undrafted rookie from the class of 2021. But undrafted players entering their second year make up four of the team’s 53 roster spots. All in all, the team has filled 12 of their 53 roster spots from players who had never heard their name called out in an NFL Draft. The fact that they were not drafted didn’t discourage them. In fact, it may have served as a further incentive to hunker down and work harder than their contemporaries.

Much is made about the LA Rams‘ willingness to trade away their first-round picks to obtain elite NFL talent.  But there is little reported about the flip side of the coin, about how the Rams have the uncanny ability to do well later in the draft. The truth is that eight of the nine players drafted in 2021 have made the team’s 53-man roster this year. The lone holdout? Defensive end Earnest Brown IV ended up on the team’s practice squad.

UDFAs find safe haven on Rams Roster

Undrafted players fare incredibly well if they sign on with the LA Rams organization.  How well? So well that that undrafted defensive lineman Eric Banks, likely destined to be signed to the Rams practice squad, was claimed and signed to the LA Chargers 53-man roster. Another undrafted player, LB Christian Rozeboom signed on to the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad.

Of course, if you want to tout the quality of the Rams’ ability to develop players from the ranks of an undrafted rookie season, you could include inside linebacker Cory Littleton, who played well enough for the LA Rams to earn a big payday. Or perhaps mention defensive end Morgan Fox, who parlayed modest beginnings with the Rams to sign on with the Carolina Panthers, where he will compete for a significantly larger role.