6 explosive prospects that Rams must target in the 2025 NFL Draft

The consensus right now is that the Los Angeles Rams offense needs explosive playmakers. However, defining the characteristics of an explosive playmaker is a bit more divisive and elusive. It's not that nobody has an idea of what those NFL players need to qualify for the category. It's simply that, when held up to the light, those characteristics seem to run counter to what the team's front office plans to do with the roster.

If you categorize explosive offensive playmakers around the concept of speed, you are looking for a fast 40-yard-dash time. But we can list the 40 times of the players on offense who are projected to part ways with the team. What about separation? Let's toss yards after the catch per reception in 2024. And if you simplify everything, we can add their longest reception in 2024 as well. So what does that look like?

• WR Cooper Kupp | 4.62-sec 40 time | 4.0 YAC per rec | 69-yard reception
• WR Tutu Atwell | 4.32-sec 40 time | 3.0 YAC per rec | 56-yard reception
• WR Demarcus Robinson | 4.59-sec 40 time | 2.3 YAC per rec | 46-yard reception
• WR Tyler Johnson | 4.70-sec 40 time | 7.0 YAC per rec | 63-yard reception
• TE Hunter Long | 4.63-sec 40 time | 4.3 YAC per rec | 18-yard reception

* Bold type indicates best in category

Of course, you could simplify everything by defining explosive playmakers simply by the number of touchdowns scored in any single season. But the group listed above combined for 14 receiving touchdowns. So that can't be it, either.

As you can see above, the Rams offense possessed players who exhibited all of the most common characteristics linked to offensive playmakers, but none are currently expected to return in 2025. So, what truly makes up an explosive offensive playmaker? You see, the team cannot hope to find explosive playmakers if they cannot define what qualities that category of player must have.

It pays to have friends. When I dive into the annual NFL Draft for speculation over what the next moves might be by the Los Angeles Rams, I lean heavily on John Vogel, founder of the website Draft Vogel. Once a former contributor to Ramblin Fan, John has grown by leaps and bounds at his craft. He is currently one of the hottest names among NFL Draft analysts. Since I needed a bit more expertise as we now pivot to the 2025 NFL Draft, I asked John to share some rookie prospects in the draft who could be realistic targets for the Rams front office and within their reach.

He replied with six prospects: Three running backs and three wide receivers. So let's talk about Draft Vogel's Top-Six explosive playmakers who are optimal Rams targets in the upcoming draft: