Early buzz over 6 rookies has Rams fans begging for more in OTAs

Better route runner than a newspaper delivery teen

You may not believe that a player drafted in Round 7 of any NFL Draft has much of a chance to make an impact, and that may be true. But it appears more and more likely that any absence of rookie wide receiver Konata Mumpfield from the Rams offense will be more a coach's preference than a lack of talent.

From the moment the Rams selected the Pittsburgh Panthers' rookie prospect, the alarms sounded as though the team was playing a game show and had hit a daily double. Frequently-stoic ESPN draft analyst Louis Riddick loved the pick and the fit. That should reassure skeptical fans.

Are some assessments of Konata Mumpfield over the top? Yes, absolutely. But it's no different than the hype that welcomed rookie RB Blake Corum to the Rams in 2024, and virtually every rookie who joined the team under HC Sean McVay's watch. Why must we endure such optimistic glibbery? Because, the Rams are one of the few NFL teams that truly can find elite players on Day 3.

NFL analysts are expected to promote the product in the spring and summer, but pivot to critiquing the product after the season starts. It's not that the rules have changed. It's that we sometimes forget that it's the same story every year.

We can be relatively optimistic about a rookie's fit and upside without allowing both feet to leave the ground. Even as hype over Konata Mumpfield gets out of hand, he is simply a young man loving the chance to train once more for a new season of football. And that passion carries a lot of meaning to the Rams.

He is going to be a good one.

Looks like he's just what we needed

This defense has been without a true enforcer since trading away former starting inside linebacker Ernest Jones IV. But in the 2025 NFL Draft, the team more than made up for it. If Chris 'Pooh' Paul Jr. gets a chance to play this season, he won't lose the starting role until he falls to injury. The Rams had to patch together the inside linebacker depth chart after the loss of Jones, and the knee-jerk reaction was to send out the most experienced veterans.

So that's what the team did.

This is a team that seldom deliberately addresses its needs at the inside linebacker position. But the team was more than happy to select Pooh Paul Jr. Was it more about the team's frantic need at the position? Or was this about the fact that Paul was simply that good that the decision to select him was a slam dunk? Perhaps it was a bit of both.

Paul Jr. was a shining star of the Shrine Bowl. Throughout the week of practice and during the game, he put on a display of pass coverage, run-stopping, and diagnosing plays at the level of an NFL starter. Projected as early as Day 2, Paul is on par and perhaps even a bit better in raw NFL talent than former ILB Ernest Jones.

What Paul lacks in size, he makes up for in effort. And his pass coverage skills rival those of a defensive back. He may not start in Week 1. But if he gets defensive snaps in 2025, the coaching staff will find it impossible to get him off the football field.