NFL rumors are undeniable over Rams growing interest in late Round 1 QB

If you follow the Los Angeles Rams, you know the team is not one to follow the herd when drafting abundant talent in the NFL Draft. In 2024, the story was that NFL teams that needed help at cornerback, wide receiver, quarterback, and offensive tackle could find starters throughout the rookie class. The Rams did not choose a CB, QB, or OT. Instead, the team selected their only wide receiver in Round 6 from the University of Texas, Jordan Whittington.

So, what do you expect the Rams to prioritize in the 2025 NFL Draft, a rookie class that is bursting with talent at running back, tight end, and defensive tackle, with a more abundant than expected number of talented linebackers? That's right. With the first pick of the 2025 NFL Draft, the Los Angeles Rams select a... quarterback?

Like it or hate it, the buzz surrounding the Rams drafting a quarterback in Round 1 is getting up a head of steam. ESPN NFL analyst Mike Tannenbaum was the first to mock Mississippi rookie QB prospect Jaxson Dart to the Rams at the 26th overall pick. But he definitely won't be the last. While the weeks leading up to the draft are often plagued with silly stories about a prospect's stock rising or falling to taint the draft in efforts to move players up and down other teams' boards, the narrative of the Rams' interest in a young quarterback is partially founded in truth.

Rams GM Les Snead has openly stated that they need a young understudy for veteran QB Matthew Stafford on the roster ASAP. With so many teams mesmerized at the chance of landing solid talent at running back, defensive tackle, or tight end, it fits the pattern of contrarian drafting for the Rams to aim where other teams are not. Since part of the job of GM seems to be public relations, that is satisfying the fans' thirst for abundant talent, there is as much showmanship to draft selections as there is intrinsic value.

How long will an NFL GM keep his job if he selects an unheard of prospect, while ignoring fans outcries to select popular players? Les Snead can, and he leverages his Kryptonian invulnerability to rummage through less popular positions in the NFL Draft. Need proof? He was shamed for drafting both OLB Jared Verse and DT Braden Fiske in the 2024 NFL Draft, primarily due to the cost of trading up in Round 2 for Fiske. But both Verse and Fiske were finalists for 2025 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. Jared Verse received that honor.

While there is no way to foresee how the board will fall to the Rams at the 26th overall pick, ESPN NFL Analyst Matt Miller's latest mock projects the Rams selecting Mississippi QB Jaxson Dart. Is this just the latest ESPN narrative? Or is there some underlying bit of insider information that has two ESPN NFL analysts aligning with the Rams selecting Jaxson Dart? Does GM Les Snead know what he is doing?

Yes, Les Snead knows what he is doing. But do NFL analysts know what Les Snead will do? That is the million-dollar question right now. But like any NFL rumor that is growing in volume, how does it stand up to more intense scrutiny?

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So let's vet this Rams rumor that is suddenly heating up:

Tannenbaum makes a passionate and compelling argument

Officially, we have documented the Rams having met with two quarterbacks so far. They are Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers and Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe. Historically, the Rams actual draft seldom adheres to exclusively selecting players who the team had met with previously. In fact, the team seldom does so, unless it's later in the draft. It seems that the Rams use those leaked meetings as the fallback position to misdirect rival teams as to who the Rams truly intend to select.

On many 2025 NFL Draft big boards, both Quinn Ewers and Jalen Milroe are projected among the Top 5 rookie quarterback prospects in this rookie class. The three quarterbacks who are consistently ranked above them? University of Miami QB Cam Ward, Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders, and Mississippi QB Jaxson Dart. Just to compare, the third ranked quarterback in the 2024 NFL Draft was Drake Maye.

And if you compare the raw draft profile scores of Jaxson Dart with his 2024 NFL Draft counterpart, his closest contemporary, he is most similar to current Denver Broncos starter and former Oregon rookie quarterback prospect Bo Nix. So yes, the Rams have solid reasons not to pooh-pooh interest in Dart so quickly.

What truly sells me on the belief that the Rams are interested in Jaxson Dart, or any rookie quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft, is the passionate argument that Mike Tannenbaum makes for the Rams to select Dart. Tannenbaum is not a Rams beat writer. His job is to cover the entire NFL and to discern which teams make the best fits for which rookie prospects.

He puts his objectivity and reputation on the line with this passionate sales pitch of Dart to the Rams:

Of course, the likelihood of Jaxson Dart's selection by the Rams is very dependent upon no other team in Round 1 seeing the same level of NFL potential in Jaxson Dart. In a year where NFL teams scrambled to sign veteran quarterbacks just to ensure that their roster could start a quarterback in 2025, many stomachs are growling among NFL teams, hungering for a rookie quarterback as well. You can name six quarterback-interested teams off the top of your head if you think about it.

The Tennessee Titans, New York Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers, Las Vegas Raiders, New York Jets, and Minnesota Vikings are all teams that have legitimate reasons to aim for a viable rookie. The trouble is that they all make their Round 1 selections before the Rams. How does the current wave of mock drafts circumvent so much interest without appearing out of touch?

Simply stated, with so much talent at tight end, running back, defensive linemen, plus the annual ache for offensive linemen, wide receivers, and defensive backs, it's not too difficult to dislodge fans' fixation on drafting a quarterback, particularly in a year when there is no media-driven buzz about the prospects.

The focus of NFL fans is definitely aiming at where the best and most abundant talent rests. For the 2025 NFL Draft, that's not the quarterback position. It does make some sense. 11 quarterbacks were selected (out of 32 teams) in the 2024 NFL Draft. Six of those quarterbacks were chosen in Round 1. Not only did those teams satiate their hunger for young quarterback talent in 2025, but the other positional needs are that much greater this year. One quarterback takes the football field. But three wide receivers step onto the field, four defensive linemen step onto the field.

It's not too far in left field to expect NFL teams to focus on other needs in this draft.

But wait . . . there's more

The fact that many major media outlets are not covering the 2025 rookie quarterback class as thoroughly or intensively as the 2024 rookie quarterback class may have left some fans believing that this class is devoid of all talent. Let's clear that up. It's not. And that may be one of the reasons that the Rams front office may strike quickly for a rookie quarterback. This could a year when the third and/or fourth best rookie quarterbacks fall to the Rams, and that seldom happen.

And yes, even if some other team anticipates the Rams' interest in a quarterback at the 26th overall pick, that does not mean that if Jaxson Dart is off the board, the Rams will pack up and head home. The Rams have multiple players who could intrigue them early in this draft. One name that has just surfaced as a potential Rams target is Louisville QB Tyler Shough. And we are learning now that Rams HC Sean McVay is very much impressed by this mobile pocket-passer QB:

So, who is Tyler Shough? He is a 6-foot-5, 219-pound quarterback who competed for seven years in college. Because he has such an extensive collegiate football resume, he will turn 26 by the time the 2025 NFL season gets underway. That age will likely discourage many teams. For any teams that are not sour on Shough's age, his injury history could be the straw that broke the camel's back:

"Shough()s aforementioned injury history is a bit of a lengthy one, as he was unable to play a full season during his all three of his years with the Red Raiders. He suffered a broken collarbone in both the 2021 and 2022 seasons, then a broken fibula this past season, and injury which he is still in the process of recovering from."

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It was his successive bad luck with injuries that extended his NCAA football eligibility. He saved his best for last, completing 244 of 389 passes for 3,195 yards, 23 touchdowns, and six interceptions.

Shough can run. But he is at his lumpy-bumpy best standing tall in the pocket. He showed that uptick by doing so for the Louisville Cardinals, which has helped to establish himself among NFL circles as a name to watch. Speaking of which, 32 NFL teams showed up to watch his Pro Day:

If the Giants have big names in observance, you have to believe they view Shough as an option in Round 2, right? And if Shough is a legit option for the Giants at the 34th overall pick, how much of a stretch of the imagination is it to project him to the Rams at the 26th overall pick of the draft?

The Rams may not have any viable options in Round 1, as the worst-case scenario could transpire that has four rookie quarterbacks off the board by the time the Rams step up to the podium. But how bad will that really be? If four QBs are selected, other top prospects will fall. Perhaps the Rams will have an opportunity to add a top tight end, wide receiver, or cornerback in Round 1. And if that happens, it's almost a certainty that the Rams will have the option to draft either QB Quinn Ewers or Jalen Milroe in Round 3.

Is this the year that the Rams draft a true successor to veteran QB Matthew Stafford. It's appearing more and more likely. You can count on Rams GM Les Snead to get his player. With the talent available in the 2025 NFL Draft, expect a whole lot more.

As always, thanks for reading.

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