New LA Rams trade-filled mock draft swells roster with young talent

With the 226th pick

With the 226th pick of the 2023 NFL Draft, the LA Rams turn their attention to their very own back yard and choose Daniel Scott, a promising safety from the University of California. The Rams will want to invest heavily into the secondary, particularly at the back end of the defense, as that seemed to be a trouble-spot for the team in 2022. While Daniel Scott cannot be expected to fix the Rams pass coverage, he could be developed into part of the solution to doing so.

At this point in the draft, the Rams will be shopping for rookie prospects who can be developed into future contributors, but also seeking special team contributors out of the gate. Daniel Scott delivers both, and the fact that he is well within the Rams reach at the University of California will improve his chances of getting noticed by the Rams scouting department. And the fact that he has been a team captain with impeccable maturity and character will only amplify his attractiveness to the Rams.

The Rams secondary needs talent, and Daniel Scott has that. Standing 6-foot-0 and weighing 210-pounds, he has ample size to play in the NFL. While he will turn 25 in the 2023 NFL season, the Rams typically only contract players at the safety position for four years, so that should not pose any problems for the team. His strengths align with the Rams biggest needs in their safety role, in essence he is an ideal zone pass coverage safety who has superb ability to read formations and track the football, rather than get caught out of position.

What Rams fans will love is the fact that he loves to lower the boom on receivers, a hard-hitting clean tackler who can pick up obliterating 49ers RB/WR Deebo Samuel right where Nick Scott left off. It's the type of play that will quickly endear fans to rally on his side.

As expected, he is not a polished highly-refined defensive back, and he will need to have a strong training camp to earn playing time. But he is a special teams standout, loves to tackle, is very coachable, and can be one of the pleasant surprises on the Rams roster as early as mid training camp.