Rams 7-round 2024 NFL Mock Draft after Aaron Donald retires

With the 213th pick of the 2024 NFL Draft

The LA Rams have done an admirable job of restocking their secondary. But when the team finds Myles Harden, a promising cornerback out of South Dakota on the board at 213, the team cannot resist adding more defensive back competition to the secondary.

Myles Harden is a 5-foot-11 195-pound cornerback who has the right size and attitude to contribute right out of the games in 2024. He fought through injuries in both 2021 and 2022 college seasons, but continued to improve and develop in 2023. In four college seasons, Harden recorded 143 tackles, 12.5 tackles for a loss, 1.0 quarterback sack, five forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries, broke up 26 passes, and picked off six passes.

He is versatile, and could earn defensive snaps as a slt corner or nickel-back early in 2024. He is solid in both run and pass defense, and is willing to creep in and play in the box.

With the 217th pick of the 2024 NFL Draft

While the team has a full quarterback room, the lessons learned with Aaron Donald's retirement remind the team that they must fully develop a succession plan for all veteran players. With that in mind, the team invests a Round 6 pick into a rookie, Sam Hartman, a promising quarterback out of Notre Dame.

Hartman is a 6-foot-1 211-pound mobile quarterback who threatens defenses with both his arm and his legs. In 2023 at Notre Dame, Hartman completed 191 of 301 passes for 2,689 passing yards, and 24 touchdowns to just eight interceptions. He also rushed 45 times for 123 yards and three touchdowns.

He adds improvisation to any offense, the dimension that makes starting QB Matthew Stafford so effective in the offense. Despite being mobile, he moves in the pocket to extend plays while keeping eyes trained downfield. He has the ability to make all NFL throws anywhere in the football field. He is a great option for this offense, as he brings the ability to bootleg and threaten defenses with his legs as well.

With the 254th pick of the 2024 NFL Draft

In Round 7, the team finally addresses the need for a placekicker. It comes down to Arkansas kicker Cam Little or Stanford kicker Joshua Karty. In this mock draft scenario, Cam Little is already off the board, so the pick falls to Joshua Karty.

He is a powerful kicker who also has impressive accuracy. Karty is considered the top kicker in the 2024 NFL Draft by several sites. He is the top dog because he has tremendous power, admirable accuracy, and has enough savvy to handle on-side kicks.

Rookie kickers are no sure-thing. But Karty will up the competitiveness to the next level in the search for the 2024 starting kicker.

Summary

So how did the Rams do in this draft? While they did not add any wide receivers, you have to be pleased with the teams ability to add four talented prospects to the team's defesnive front, plus three solid defensive backs.

• Jared Verse, Edge rusher, Florida State (19)
• Ruke Orhorhoro, Defensive tackle, Clemson (52)
• Kyree Jackson, Cornerback, Oregon (83)
• Calen Bullock, Safety, USC (99)
• Tyler Davis, Defensive tackle, Clemson (154)
• Isaac Guerendo, Running back, Louisville (155)
• Brennan Jackson, Edge rusher, Washingon State (196)
• Tip Reiman, Tight end, Illinois (209)
• Myles Harden, Cornerback, South Dakota (213)
• Sam Hartman, Quarterback, Notre Dame (217)
• Joshua Karty, Kicker, Stanford (254)

Of course, this is simply one of any number of scenarios that cand occur in the 2024 NFL Draft. But withe the offense all but set, the team has a great deal of flexibility to let the draft board fall to them naturally.

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