3 Rams players who are on the hot seat following NFL Draft

2. Russ Yeast, Safety

2023 was a disappointing sophomore season for Yeast, who the Rams drafted in the 7th round back in 2022. He didn't play much his rookie season, only getting on the field for a total of 113 snaps. 2023 was a different story, as Yeast had a much bigger role – he appeared in all 17 games and started nine of them. The results were ... rough. According to Pro Football Focus, Yeast finished the year ranked as the 81st best safety in football (out of 95). He also split some time at corner, but the results weren't any better – he missed over 20% of his tackles, committed three penalties, and had a passer rating over 115 on targets that went his way. You always want to give second-year players who are just starting for the first time a little runway to adjust, but the Rams can't afford that type of production in 2024 and beyond.

It also doesn't help that the Rams pretty-clearly drafted Yeast's replacement. When they took Miami safety Kamren Kinchens in the third round, McVay talked about how the Rams expect Kinches to come in and impact the defense immediately. Teams typically don't take a guy in the Top-100 just to stash and develop him, and it's not like their secondary depth chart is loaded with talent. Maybe Yeast takes last year's experience, builds on it, and becomes one of the next great Rams stories for the season, but more realistically, it seems like there's almost certainly a camp battle in his future. At least that'll keep things interesting!