Selecting this player has answered almost every Rams fans prayers

How are you doing today? After a three-day NFL Draft event, followed by the chaotic NFL candy-scramble of UDFA signings, I think that I am finally to a point to pause, take a deep breath, and take in the scenic vista that is the busload of new NFL rookies that have joined this team over the past few days.

Do you need to 'catch up' to the team's draft class? Click on our draft tracker. Do you want to catch up on the rookies signed after the draft ended? Click on our UDFA tracker. Hopefully, with a bit more coffee and a lot of free time, I can put pen to paper and jot down some of the fascinating tales of this draft.

There are just so many things to discuss.

For one thing, although the 'real football' season is still ahead of us, the quality of this draft class appears to rival that of the 2023 NFL Draft class. While I'm not asserting the Rams already have frontrunners for Offensive and Defensive Rookies of the Year honors, I can see as many as 5 starters/significant contributors from this 10 player rookie draft class. In a good draft, that number typically hovers around two to three.

But perhaps one of the most important rookes who may start in 2024 is one of the players added on Day 3?

Rams front office answers fans prayers

We know that the Rams special team units were not exactly a high priority in 2023. After all, the team drafted punter Ethan Evans, but filled all other roles by signing players after the draft. That included long snapper Alex Ward, as well as a pair of kickers: NC State kicker Christopher Dunn, and Oklahoma State kicker Tanner Brown.

By the opening kickoff, neither Dunn nor Brown were on the roster. Of course, the team attempted to backfill the void by signing veteran kicker Brett Maher. When that seemed to fizzle, the team signed kicker Lucas Havrisik. When that fizzled, the team was back to Brett Maher. When the season ended, the team went back to Tanner Brown.

Is it any wonder that the fans were openly praying on social media for the front office to draft a kicker?

Well, their prayers were answered when the team drafted Stanford kicker Joshua Karty in Round 6 with the 209th pick of the 2024 NFL Draft. Karty was the second kicker selected in the draft, but he was the top kicker on my draft board. Karty is the type of kicker who blends a powerful leg with solid accuracy.

Will he be the answer to those prayers once the season starts? I certainly hope so. The team is too good to be dragged down by struggles on special teams. With the selection of Karty in the 2024 NFL Draft, the front office thinks so as well.