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

Defense

It's more challenging to consider the way the team's defense rallied over the course of the 2024 NFL season and poke holes in the roster. Yes, the team struggled at times. Yes, the defense did not charge out of the gates to unparalleled success. But this was a very young defense playing for a newbie defensive coordinator. Much of the early struggles of the defense can be explained by the unfamiliarity of Chris Shula with his defensive philosophy.

New players, new units, and new strategies were all theories until the defense stepped foot onto the football field. From the opening kickoff in Week 1, Shula learned what did and did not work and made adjustments to compensate. By mid-season, Shula had a pretty good idea of who did and did not fit the defense. By season's end, Shula had a pretty good handle on how to optimize his defense.

Now, with one season under his belt, he has a solid vision of the type of players needed to unlock the full capabilities of his defensive philosophy.

Cornerback

The most difficult position to fill in Shula's defense in 2024 was the cornerback position. Even the team's front office defaulted by addressing the secondary with veteran defensive backs. Ensuring that the team had seasoned veterans with experience in pass coverage allowed Shula and his positional coach to improvise and experiment with coverage options, allowing veterans with sufficient NFL experience to provide real-time feedback to the coaching staff with tips and suggestions to improve the plays.

The team lost DB Derion Kendrick for the season and DB Darious WIlliams for a month before Week 1. Shula opted to start the still-recovering veteran Tre'Davious White, which proved to be a complete disaster for the team. Ultimately, the team signed former starting CB Ahkello Witherspoon, and his presence along with CB Darious WIlliams and Cobie Durant helped to solidify the team's pass defense.

The team added former Washington Commanders CB Emmanuel Forbes late in the season, and risks losing only Ahkello Witherspoon to an expired contract. While I do not see the defense hopelessly paralyzed without addressing the cornerback position in the 2025 NFL Draft, for continuity's sake, the team needs to get a talented cornerback onboard if the plan is top consistently compete in the postseason.