Kicker Joshua Karty could end up being an incredible steal for Rams

First day of OTA and Karty is already standing out

With the 209th overall pick in Round 6 of the 2024 NFL Draft, the LA Rams selected former Stanford kicker Joshua Karty. While it was almost a given that the Rams would draft a kicker, there were no guarantees that Karty would be on the draft board when the Rams felt sufficient value in addressing the position.

Karty is a rookie prospect, yes. But by almost all accounts, he is one of the best kicking prospects to emerge from the college ranks in the past 5 to 10 years. Those are not my words, those are the words of the Senior Director of the Reese Senior Bowl, Jim Nagy, and several draft specialists he had consulted with in evaluating kickers.

That was confirmed quickly by the first reports out of Rams OTAs by commentators J.B. Long and DeMarco Farr. The LA Rams commentators get right to it with rookie kicker Joshua Karty at the 3:20 mark, as J.B. Long is quoted as saying that he loved Joshua Karty at Stanford and that he will like him even more in Horns.

What did he have to say about Karty's kick?

"1...2...Thump. (snaps fingers) It is a nice easy swing."

- J.B. Long about K Joshua Karty

DeMarco Farr chimed in with his accolades, describing his delivery and kick as one that gets the ball up into the air quickly, making it an almost impossible kick to block. And they both commented on the speed of his motion, that interval that is so rapid that opponents will have almost no chance of breaking through the offensive line to get a hand on the football.

While still very early in the process, these are incredibly positive signs for a team that is desperate to get a solid kicker in house for years to come. Desperate or not, the Rams have landed one of the best in the 2024 NFL Draft. That bodes very well for the 2024 NFL season ahead.