How Rams past 2 drafts positioned the team for bold 2025 NFL Draft

Are you feeling confident about the Los Angeles Rams as the team readies for the 2025 NFL Draft? You should, This team is riding the crest of very successful draft classes in both 2023 and 2024. And if you are not too stingy, you could even include the 2022 NFL Draft in the team's recent hauls that have propelled it back into the NFC West Division champion.

Future success has some elements of durability, luck, coaching, schedule, and yes, even luck. But let's dare to give credit where credit is due. The Rams have loaded up the roster with starters found in each of the past three draft classes. Such as:

2022

CB Cobie Durant
RB Kyren WIlliams
S Quentin Lake

2023

LG Steve Avila
OLB Byron Young
DL Kobie Turner
WR Puka Nacua
P Ethan Evans
LS Alex Ward (UDFA)

2024

OLB Jared Verse
DT Braden Fiske
S Kamren Kinchens
K Joshua Karty
C Beaux Limmer
LB Omar Speights (UDFA)
S Jaylen McCollough (UDFA)

Keep in mind that the players listed above are primarily starters. We had to exclude rotational players and key backups as the list would more than double in size. What is particularly amazing is that the Rams have continued to find and stockpile talented young players annually, even as the team has risen to the ranks of a Super Bowl contender.

And yet, here we go again. A Rams team that has few holes and fewer needs is about to spend eight more draft picks in the 2025 NFL Draft. As other NFL fans hope for their teams to land a starter on Day 1 and rotational players of Day 2 of the draft, Rams fans know that the track record for their team is such that starters can be found on any day of the draft, and even into the undrafted college players signed after the draft ends.

But what about the Rams past strategy makes the 2025 NFL Draft so special? Several reasons, including:

(3) - Youth movement is undeniably successful

At the end of the 2021 NFL season, and well through the 2022 NFL season, the Rams front office realized that the roster needed to squelch their search for win-now veteran talent and restock the roster with solid young talent. Despite an impressive coaching staff, the team could not afford so many elite veteran playmakers as the bulk of work was handled by young players who immediately signed elsewhere as soon as they tested the NFL Free Agency market.

Replacing so much talent simultaneously is a very difficult undertaking.

Instead, the team pivoted to using draft picks to find both starters and depth players. The team got a sampling of how that works in the 2022 NFL Draft, but perfected the strategy in 2023 and 2024. Now the team enters the 2025 NFL Draft with the luxury of selecting talented players, no matter which position they play. The results have been very impressive.

(2) - ST, Defense done allows front office to pivot to offense

When the Rams hired new Chase Blackburn to take over as their new Special Teams Coordinator in 2023, they allowed every special team specialist to sign elsewhere. Now, having restocked special teams, Blackburn has his group ready to go for 2025. The same approach occured for new Defensive Coordinator Chris Shula, whose unit was restocked with multiple rookie starters added in last year's draft.

With special teams and the defense in much better shape this year, the team can address the offense in the 2025 NFL Draft. Despite three tight ends, many draft analysts and fans expect the team to draft a tight end. Depite four running backs, the team could draft a running back. And even despite the team extending offensive tackle Alaric Jackson, the team could draft an offensive tackle.

The team may not need to address any of these positions. But in the 2025 NFL Draft, they most certainly could do so. And nobody would bat an eye.

(1) - Rams have some tricks up their sleeve

The Rams' complement of picks in the 2025 NFL Draft does not include picks in Rounds 2, 5, or 7. The team has eight picks, which creates a host of trade scenarios that could fill in the gaps caused by the lack of picks in those rounds. But will the team trade simply for the sake of smoothing out their pick frequency?

The 2025 NFL Draft is a bit odd because there are few projected elite rookie prospects. But this is a deep draft if an NFL team is looking for eventual starters. So much so that many scouts and draft analysts equate the talent level of prospects available in the second half of Round 1 as generally equivalent to prospects who can be selected on Day 3.

Since rookie compensation is tied to when a prospect is selected, the Rams have financial incentives to choose players on Day 3 if all other factors are equal. Ah, but therein lies the rub.

The Rams traded a small fortune to add Florida State DT Braden Fiske to the team in 2025. Fiske would go on to be a finalist for 2024 NFL Defensive Rookie Of the Year. With that bit of wizardry behind them, the Rams front office will continue to follow it's instincts and ignore the herd mentality of rushing to pick the same positions as other teams.

And yes, trading up, back, or standing pat at the 26th overall pick are all very possible scenarios.

GM Les Snead is going to do what he always does. He will try to make the most positive impact possible on the Rams roster. From recent history, you can count on him doing exactly that.