Projecting LA Rams Depth Chart as 2024 Training Camp gets underway

Safety

Starters: Kamren Curl, Quentin Lake

Backups: John Johnson III, Kamren Kinchens, Russ Yeast

Next in line: Jason Taylor II, Kenny Logan Jr., Jaylen McCullough, Tanner Ingle

There is no shortage of praise coming out of the Rams Training Camp about free agent safety Kamren Curl. While added to ensure that the Rams have a hard-hitting safety, Curl is truly the top story of pleasant surprises in training camp so far. He is sideline to sideline in coverage, and can stuff the run in the box while also playing centerfield to break up a deep pass.

Meanwhile, he is paring up with Quentin Lake, a phenomenal pass coverage defensive back who earned a solid reputation as a slot corner in 2023. Now he is back in his natural position. But will he stay at the safety position with the team boasting such depth at safety but already feeling a bit thin at cornerback? That is a question to be answered another day.

What we do know is that the team is thrilled from what they see in Kamren Curl. But what of other players?

Both John Johnson III and Russ Yeast are returning veterans with starting experience in the secondary, and are almost certain to make the roster from that alone. But rookie Kamren Kinchens has gotten some positive comments from coaches already, and I believe that he will truly distinguish himself as a front-runner at the safety position after the pads go on. He is the best ball-hawking safety on the team, and as he puts that on display, the coaches will definitely take notice.

Specialists

Kicker: Joshua Karty, Tanner Brown

Punter: Ethan Evans

Long Snapper: Alex Ward

Special Teams Coordinator Chase Blackburn did not have a warm reception in 2023. Not only did he take over for the Rams special teams guru, but he did so as the team was saying farewell to every special team specialist from the previous season. While even that was not a shocking development, he was further handicapped by the team using just one draft pick to restock the roster, drafting WIngate's punter Ethan Evans. For other special team specialists, the team signed rookie kickers Christopher Dunn and Tanner Brown, and long snapper Alex Ward, after the 2023 NFL Draft.

To fill the return specialist role, the team repurposed WR Austin Trammell to return both kickoffs and punts.

But this is a brand new ballgame, Rams fans. And to showcase what we mean, I need to point no further than the fact that the team drafted former Stanford kicker Joshua Karty. To some draft analysts, Karty is an epic kicking talent, the likes of which only appears to the NFL once every five or ten years. And to be honest, Karty was my top ranked kicker

But he will need to fend off the competition of returning kicker Tanner Brown. That won't happen too quickly this season, as the Rams released kicker Christopher Dunn too quickly in 2023.

With new kickoff rules, the team has many options for a return specialist. While RB Boston Scott has the inside track, WR Tutu Atwell hinted that he will have reps as a kicker returner this year. There may be other players try their hand at returning kickoffs and punts this year as well.

One week of training camp is on the books. But there is a lot of camp left. We expect to update this depth chart regularly throughout training camp. And with so much heated competition in store, some changes may surprise you.

Thanks for reading.