LA Rams special teams will truly be special in 2024, and here's why:

Rookie Kicker Joshua Karty is where the magic will happen in 2024

The front office may have wanted to select Alabama kicker Will Reichard, but the Minnesota Vikings selected him with the 27th pick in Round 6 of the 2024 NFL Draft. But as has been the case frequently over who the team wanted versus who the team added, it would work out for the best in this case too.

You see, the LA Rams selected Stanford kicker Joshua Karty with the 33rd pick in Round 6 of the 2024 NFL Draft. Not only was Karty considered the best of the kickers available in this draft, but some draft analysts viewed his accuracy and power as one of the best kickers to come out of college football for the past five or ten years.

Best of all, Karty wanted to stay on the West Coast. And his mother was hoping that the LA Rams would either draft her son or sign him after the draft. He was drafted by the Rams. And as the video below shows, mom had a Rams hat on to ensure that Fates got it right:

Okay, another rookie kicker. But didn't the Rams trial two rookie kickers in 2023? Er, not exactly. While both Tanner Brown and Christopher Dunn were good kickers, neither were as outstanding as Karty.

Karty was ranked as the top kicker in the 2024 NFL Draft by virtually all draft analysts that I was able to find. And like the challenges of linking the LA Rams to Florida State OLB Jared Verse, I hesitated to promote Karty to the roster because I expected him to be gone before I saw the Rams selecting a kicker in the 2024 NFL Draft.

BNB Football had a glowing summary of Joshua Karty in their draft profile:

"Joshua Karty had a perfect 2022 season where he hit all 18 of his field goals, 13 of which were 40+ yards. He has the leg strength to consistently hit from 60 yards, and a smooth, repeatable motion to suggest consistency in the future. He gets good lift on his kicks and has a clean approach to the ball. He was not perfect in 2023, but was still very respectable making 23-of-27 kicks despite very few short kicks.

Joshua Karty 2023 Stats
21/21 extra points, 23/27 field goals, 5/5 inside 30 yards, 7/8 30-39 yards, 7/7 40-49 yards, 4/7 50+ yards, 56 long"

- BNB Football

He was about as good of a kicker that you can ever hope to see in college football.

Sometimes, events have a way of taking place so that they ultimately build towards a magnificent grand finish. While the team's special teams were not exactly thrilling in 2023, I can see much more to be excited about in 2024.

Rams fans love the contribution of a good field goal kicker. And by all measures of a rookie, the team appears to have landed one of the best rookie kickers that the NFL has seen in some time.

It's impossible to give more than this. The Rams have not played even preseason games yet, and so we are left with speculation and projections. But, can so many glowing and positive reports be so wrong? Joshua Karty ended up where he wanted to play. He ended up where his family wanted him to play. And by all accounts and the events of the 2024 NFL Draft, where he was destined to play.

I look for a magical season out of the LA Rams special teams in 2024. And that may be all that is needed to push this team over the top to another Super Bowl win.

Thanks for reading.