Latest ESPN mock draft could flip Rams draft haul on its ear

When it comes to how the Los Angeles Rams plan to improve the team. There are no urgent needs that must be addressed on the shopping list during the 2025 NFL Draft. That hasn't stopped the growing sense that the team will emerge with one of the top two tight ends in this rookie class. Of course, I am referring to Penn State tight end Tyler Warren and Michigan tight end Colston Loveland.

For the Rams fans, the expectation for the team to land either tight end in the 2025 NFL Draft is less about perceived need for the team, and more about the pattern that has developed over the past two drafts. In 2023, the team tried feverishly to trade up for rookie TE Dalton Kincaid. In 2024, the same pattern emerged, this time the Rams tried fruitlessly to trade up for rookie TE Brock Bowers.

Since neither attempt was successful, fans simply expect the same pattern to develop this year. And with two tight end prospects catching the eye of NFL Draft analysts this year, it only seems logical that the Rams can land at least one of the two tight ends. But it's often true in any draft that an abundance of talent at a single position acts as chum in the water for NFL sharks, elevating their interest and fervor to land one of those talented players.

We all witnessed how that worked in the 2024 NFL Draft when the first 14 selections in Round 1 focused on offensive players. It was that insistence by NFL teams to feast on abundant offensive talent that started the chain of events to allow Florida State outside linebacker Jared Verse to fall to the Rams at 19. He ultimately became the 2024 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. The Rams next selection, defensive tackle Braden Fiske, was also in the running.

Rams get flipped on their ears by ESPN's latest mock draft

ESPN's NFL Draft Analyst Mike Tannenbaum waited for the first wave of NFL Free Agency before launching his latest NFL Mock Draft. With ever-increasing volume over the interest of multiple teams in selecting either Tyler Warren or Colston Loveland, he projects both coming off the board long before the Rams step up to the podium to make the 26th overall pick. So what about OT Josh Simmons, who had been a favorite target of the Rams in early mock drafts?

Nope. He was projected to be selected by the Miami Dolphins at 13. Texas WR Matthew Golden was gone as well. So, who is left?

Tannenbaum rolls up his sleeves and projects Mississippi rookie QB prospect Jaxson Dart to the Rams at the 26th overall pick. Does that any sense? Well, it does and it doesn't. We know that the Rams have already announced plans to address their quarterback succession plan as quickly as possible. And the selection of any quarterback in Round 1 of the 2025 NFL Draft brings an automatic successor-to-Matthew-Stafford moniker with it.

Does it make sense? Or is this simply sensationalism? Let's dive into the likelihood.