Let's dive deep into the LA Rams draft needs for this offseason, and why

Offensive tackle

There is a resounding theme that surfaces repeatedly in this 2025 NFL Draft. Despite the fact that the team has consistently boasted a very young roster since purging highly-paid veterans during and after the 2022 NFL season, the team must now address identifying and adding players who can take over for the team's remaining aging veterans. One such veteran who is getting up in years is starting right tackle Rob Havenstein.

Just as the team needs to put the successor to QB Matthew Stafford on the roster from the 2025 NFL Draft, the team needs to select the successor to RT Rob Havenstein from the same draft class. The reasons are not surprisingly similar. RT Rob Havenstein will be 33 years old and has suited up for just 25 of the team's 34 game over the past two seasons. His availability is trending in the wrong direction and there are no reasons to hope for it to reverse in 2025.

The team is unlikely to extend swing tackle Joe Noteboom. While I hope the team re-signs starting left tackle Alaric Jackson, there is no true successor for his starting role on the Rams roster either. The team added LG Steve Avila in 2023, and C Beux Limmer in 2024. Now the team must get a top-tier offensive tackle in the mix in 2025. The team needn't break the back chasing the top offensive tackle in the draft. But a reliable prospect who can be coached into the role by mid-season is a must.

Wide Receiver

The LA Rams offense struggled in 2024. Since 2021, veteran wide receiver Cooper Kupp has suited up for 33 of 51 games. In just his second season, rookie star wide receiver Puka Nacua suited up for just 11 of 17 games. The team risks losing WRs Tutu Atwell, Tyler Johnson, and Demarcus Robinson. So at the moment, the team's wide receiver room is facing significant upheaval.

The team may extend one wide receiver. But even if that happens, the need to ramp up the number of wide receivers for training camp is unavoidable. The team signed just two wide receivers to Reserve/Future contracts in Drake Stoops and Quintez Cephus. So the opportunity and need to draft a wide receiver may never have been greater.

The team drafted WR Puka Nacua in Round 5 of the 2023 NFL Draft. The team drafted WR Jordan Whittington in Round 6 of the 2024 NFL Draft. I cannot see the team repeating that strategy in this draft. This team has saturated the big, tough, physical, contested-catch category of wide receiver. Now it's time for the offense to break the mold and introduce explosive play-making, insane speed, unstoppable height, or some other unique feature that will give defensive backs headaches in coverage.

The Rams wide receiver room is stuck in a rut. Time to break the mold.

Running back

The Rams return three running backs for 2025. They are RB Kyren Williams, Blake Corum, and Cody Schrader. They all stand between 5-foot-8 and 5-foot-9. All three running backs weigh between 202 and 214 pounds. And all three run the 40-yard dash from 4.53 to 4.65 seconds. The homogeny of the Rams running back room throughout the 2024 NFL season provided a seamless transition from one player to another.

The problem is, opposing defenses did not have to change their preparation to face any of the Rams runners. That's a problem, an oversight in strategy for a team that has prided itself in innovation and thinking outside the box.

Without blazing speed at running back, the team simply did not have the same dangerous rushing offense like the Philadelphia Eagles or the Baltimore Ravens. Without a big bruising power back, the team simply could not pound the rock and wear down opposing defenses. The Rams offense relied heavily upon a physical offensive line, and hoped that no defender would run down Kyren Williams. But time and time again, one did.

The Rams get plenty of production out of the offense on the ground. But the lack of variability is a thorn in the side of this team. In drafting Michigan rookie RB Blake Corum, the team simply cloned RB Kyren Williams. And in deciding whether to hand the football off to the original or the clone, the Rams opted to focus getting carries to Williams. By season's end, rookie Blake Corum carried the football 58 times for 207 yards and 0 touchdowns. Featured running back Kyren Williams carried the football 315 times for 1,299 yards and 14 touchdowns. He also fumbled the football five times.

Whether the offense needs to get swifter, bigger, or more powerful at the running back position in not as important as the team needing to offer up something different in terms of speed, timing, and style of rushing. The Rams rusing offense has devolved into the AC/DC or Bachman Turner Overdive of the NFL. No matter which song is playing, they all start to sound the same after a while.

The Rams need to offer something in the ground game that is different from all of the others. When the front office attempted to add that north-south power running back option, the team tried it for a year, and then let that player walk by season's end. The team needs to revisit speed or power for their next running back. Much like the wide receiver position, the team's insistence on fielding the same running back in three roster spots has given the edge to opposing defenses.