NFL mock draft 2025: A way too early red-carpet reload of Rams roster

Okay, the LA Rams have just completed their 2024 NFL Draft, so what business do I have by mocking the next 2025 NFL Draft? Well, isn't it obvious? While we as fans love to think of the team in terms of present-day current events, the art of success in the NFL as a general manager is to have the present in the windshield, but to keep next year in the side-view mirror.

The 2025 NFL Draft is slated to occur on April 24 through 26, 2025 and will be located in Green Bay, Wisconsin. After Detroit, Michigan, raised the bar in 2024, there is a new standard for NFL Drafts going forward.

Speaking of a 2025 NFL Draft, should we take a gaze into the crystal ball? While I am fully aware that the list of variables for the next 360+ days is far too great to quantify, let's take a look into legendary Rams quarterback Jim Everett's crystal ball . . .

Okay, so that did not pan out too well.

But this is the perfect time to stop, look, and listen for the next draft, isn't it? After all, we have a clear idea of which positions need to be addressed this year, and which contracts expire at the end of this season. In the past, I have been vehemently opposed to gazing too far into the future.

But I have to say that time changes everything. Today, it feels as though it's vital to know where the next pitstop of roster restocking might be, and what may be available if and when the Rams get there. After all, we are already aware of the fact that the team has a bit of work to do to placate veteran QB Matthew Stafford, whose guaranteed contract money ends with 2024.

We can also conclude that several players signed to new contracts are on one-year deals. What will this team do after those players' contracts expire?

A new Rams mock draft may not make sense initially. I can understand that knee-jerk reaction. But like many new ideas, you have to plant the seed and see how it sprouts and takes root. If the team needs to fill a glaring vacancy that is projected in 2025, why not go the extra mile to project a solution for that new challenge?

With the Round 1 pick

• Drew Allar, QB, Penn State

While the Rams hope to get more time out of Matthew Stafford, at some point, Father Time will force both Stafford and the Rams to accept the fact that the NFL is still a young man's game. But by the time the 2025 NFL Draft arrives, the team's roster will be back to just Stafford and Stetson Bennett. With the current contract controversy sneaking into the draft day news, the team realizes that the NFL is still a business, players still want guaranteed money, and the Rams need to secure the quarterback position for the future.

Penn State quarterback Drew Allar makes sense for a Day 1 pick for the Rams in the 2025 NFL Draft. He is the quarterback who stands 6-foot-4, weighs 243 pounds, and runs like a gazelle when he needs to move the chains. In 2023, Allar completed 233 of 389 passes for 2,631 yards, 25 touchdowns and only 2 interceptions.

In the 2025 NFL Draft, multiple quarterbacks are projected to be highly sought after. Already draft analysts are singing the praises of:

• Texas QB Quinn Ewers
• Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders
• Georgia QB Carson Beck
• Alabama QB Jalen Milroe
• Penn State QB Drew Allar

In the 2024 NFL Draft, after the first three selections of this draft were quarterbacks, the fifth quarterback selected fell at the 10th pick of the draft. But, keep in mind that the Atlanta Falcons fooled everyone, even their own fans, by drafting Washington QB Micheal Penix as the eighth overall pick. The Rams will not finish anywhere close to a Top-10 pick. Hopefully, Allar falls to them. In this mock draft, he does.

With the Round 2 pick

The LA Rams traded their 2025 Round 2 pick to move up and select DT Braden Fiske. We will save the great debate about value and strategy of making the decision to move up for another day. But in this mock draft, the Rams are unable to make a selection in Round 2.

With the Round 3 pick

• Drew Shelton, OT, Penn State

The Penn State Nittany Lions lost stellar left tackle Olu Fashanu in 2022, they turned to redshirt freshman Drew Shelton to step up. He did that and then some. But he did so well as a fill-in starter at left tackle that he was promoted to play at the right tackle spot the following season. And coming straight from the player himself, that was not a seamless transition:

But Drew Shelton is a fan of hard work. Standing 6-foot-5, and tipping the scales at 306 pounds, Shelton is very much the part of a future NFL offensive tackle. And now, having had the experience of starting at left tackle and getting plenty of work at right tackle for a major NCAA college football program, he brings the versatility that is prized in the NFL by GMs.

But with Fashanu hearing his name called out by the New York Jets with the 11th overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, this is Drew Coleman's time to shine. And he has already seized those moments for the Nittany Lions in the past, as shared by PSU OL COach Trautwein to DK Sports Cory Giger:

"“It is remarkable for a kid who’s only been here for five or six months to be able to play as a true freshman. To do that at offensive tackle in the Big Ten? It’s pretty crazy. It’s pretty awesome. ... He’s done a hell of a job.”"

PSU OL Coach Phil Trautwein

While Drew Shelton has yet to start a full season for Penn State, he has already flashed NFL ability. And by all accounts, his development will accelerate now that he is the presumed starting left tackle for Penn State in 2024. He is a grinder, a huge offensive tackle who hates the camera and love the football field. I love what he brings to the offensive line.

With the Round 3 (compensatory pick)

That will be a bonus for those of you who stick around closer to the 2025 NFL Draft. After all, we cannot show all of our cards, can we?

With the Round 4 pick

• Colbie Young, WR, Georgia

The LA Rams showed plenty of interest in getting bigger at the wide receiver position. Well, it may be a bit later than expected, but Georgia WR Colbie Young appears to have 'worth the wait,' written all over him. Colbie Young stands a towering 6-foot-4 and weighs 215 pounds, which immediately will put him on the radar scope

As far as college production, there are no concerns there. Having played two seasons with the Miami Hurricanes, Young has shown steady progress and consistent production, putting up 32 catches for 367 yards and five touchdowns in 2022, followed by 47 catches for 563 yards and five touchdowns in 2023.

Young may not last this long, but as is often the case, NFL teams gorged themselves with the abundant wide receiver talent that was readily available in the 2024 NFL Draft. Now, gorged on so many young wide receivers, the need of teams to restock in 2025 will likely fall a bit. And the 2025 NFL Draft will have a new bumper crop of talented rookies packed into one or two key positions that will likely catch the eye of NFL teams.

Colbie Young is not just a tall target. He is a physical wide receiver who is quiet and hard-working type. He is very coachable, loves to put all of his ability on display on the practice field, and he hopes to ramp up the production to rank higher on draft projections in 2024. He is already credited with soft and steady hands that catch the ball away from his body, a complete arsenal of option on his route running tree, and the ability to win contested catches in traffic and haul in those 50/50 balls

He is not a world-class sprinter, nor does he need to be. He needs to put up solid blocking and yards after the catch on display in 2024, and he will certainly be a player who makes the Rams 2025 NFL Draft Big Board.

With the Round 5 pick

The LA Rams traded their 2025 Round 5 pick as the second installment of the trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers for IOL Kevin Dotson.

With the Round 6 pick

• Thor Griffith, DT, Louisville

Defensive tackle Thor Griffith played for three seasons at Harvard, but has opted to finish his NCAA college football career at Louisville. Standing 6-foot-2 and weighing a robust 302 pounds, Griffith is a 3-tech defensive tackle who knows how to create problems for offensive linemen on the line of scrimmage. Even as the Rams invested heavily in the offensive line in the 2024 NFL Draft, there will be room to improve in 2025, as well as the matter of expiring contracts.

At the end of the 2024 NFL season, the Rams will lose both DT Larrell Murchison and Bobby Brown III. While you may presume that the team will not let both players exit to test their value via free agency, I cite the willingness of the team to allow the 2023 secondary to vacate the premises and start completely over from scratch.

Thor Griffith is the type of DT prospect who could persuade the team to take a chance on drafting him.

While at Harvard, Griffith was incredibly productive in both 2022 and 2023. He not only average over 50 tackles per each of those seasons, but he managed to show a knack for getting after the quarterback as well, averaging more than 4.0 quarterback sacks.

Griffith is transferring to Louisville to improve his draft stock, and I wish him the best. I believe that he will compete against a much greater schedule with the Louisville Cardinals, which is exactly what he hopes to accomplish. Whether he sets the NCAA ablaze or not, he has enough oomph to be a prime option for DL Coach in 2025 to replenish the ranks.

With the Round 6 pick

• Billy Bowman, DB, Oklahoma

The LA Rams front office appeared to have placed an emphasis on play-makers in the secondary, and Oklahoma Sooners' defensive back Billy Bowman is every bit the playmaker on their defense. Despite standing just 5-foot-10 and weighing 194 pounds, Bowman casts a huge shadow in the Sooners' secondary, and gives the team the ability to change the momentum of every game, on practically every play.

Safety Billy Bowman has a tough decision to make after his 2023 NCAA college football season, one in which he made 63 tackles, broke up four passes, pick-pocketed six interceptions, and ran back three of those for pick sixes. He could return for one more year playing for Oklahoma, or ply his pass pick-off wares to NFL teams in the 2024 NFL Draft. He opted to return to Oklahoma.

This young man is passionate about football, but not for the spotlight. He is driven to be the best version of himself, and by doing so, he wants to be the undisputed best version that he can possibly be. That pretty much makes him an ideal prospect for Rams DB Coach Aubrey Pleasant. Billy Bowman was featured in OU Daily by Jason Batacao, and his coach Brandon Hall was extremely complimentary of Bowers in the article:

"Billy (Bowman) has given himself wholeheartedly to this university and this football team. Billy was very adamant about wanting to come back feeling his best football will be ahead of him. He also felt like he could be a better leader and a mentor.”"

Safety Coach Brandon Hall

So how could such a productive prospect fall? In a nutshell, he is a boom or bust prospect. And by returning to Oklahoma after such a boom season, some draft analysts fear that his weaknesses my come to light.

As of right now, Bowman gambles quite a bit and won many of those gambles in 2023. Will 2024 showcase regression to the mean? After all, if quarterbacks and offensive coordinators decipher his reads one timing when to go for the football, it's an easy matter to specifically plan double moves, dig routes early to set up deep throws later in the game.

There are many examples of players who were hot in college, returned for one more season, and fell on draft boards as a result. But Bowman has the right passion, has great ball-hawking skills, and could be an ideal fit for this secondary that loves to pick off passes.

With the Round 7 pick

The LA Rams exchanged their Round 7 pick and WR Van Jefferson for the Atlanta Falcosns Round 6 pick.

All told, the Rams 2025 NFL Draft is not laced with as many picks as 2023 or 2024. But the team will have a shorter shopping list. But even with fewer picks, the team can land some very talented players. After all, the front office has a track record of finding elite NFL players late on Day 3.

After sizing up this early 2025 Rams mock draft, I feel much more optimistic about the team's chances of prolonged success. I hope that you do too. And as always, thank you so much for reading.