There’s a lot to like about the Rams’ 2023 draft class. In total, Los Angeles came away with 14 players, seven of which were on defense, six on offense and one special teams prospect.
With all of the Rams’ roster needs, this wasn’t necessarily a difficult draft for them to navigate. It would be tough for them to reach for a position of need given how many spots they had to address. And as long as they didn’t take a running back or kicker at No. 36, it would’ve been hard for them to mess things up.
Still, Les Snead and Sean McVay did a solid job of adding impactful rookies who will have a chance to compete for playing time right away – and potentially even becomes starters in 2023.
1
Trenches take priority
The Rams clearly set out to fix the trenches in this draft. They started by taking offensive lineman Steve Avila, followed by Byron Young and Kobie Turner, two defenders that will fortify the front seven. Outside linebacker Nick Hampton and offensive tackle Warren McClendon followed next, giving the Rams five players who line up on the offensive or defensive front within their first six picks.
Later on, they added edge rusher Ochaun Mathis and defensive tackle Desjuan Johnson, bringing the total to seven trench players, if you will. It was good to see the Rams go with the logical choices and not the flashy ones, opting not to prioritize fun skill players over big men in the middle.
2
Age is just a number
The Rams did not shy away from players who were atypically old for draft prospects. They’re probably more mature and developed than other 21-year-old prospects, which is a good thing, but teams undoubtedly push older prospects down the board. But not the Rams.
Young is 25 years old, Turner is 24, Stetson Bennett is 25, Hampton is 23, Mathis is 24, Taylor is 23 and Johnson is 23. It’s not exactly a young draft class when half of the picks are at least 23 years old, but the Rams aren’t bothered by that.
With a much younger roster than usual, maybe these older rookies will adapt more quickly and help guide younger players – particularly those who make the team as undrafted free agents.
3
Size doesn’t matter
By most standards, Young, Turner, Bennett, Hampton, Hodges-Tomlinson and Johnson are undersized for their positions. Young and Hampton are both 6-foot-2 edge rushers, which is considered small for that position. Turner and Johnson are both 6-foot-2 and about 285 pounds, which makes them smaller defensive tackles – though that never bothered Aaron Donald, who’s essentially the same size.
Bennett is a 5-foot-11 quarterback and Hodges-Tomlinson weighed in at 5-foot-8 and 178 pounds, both small for their positions. The Rams didn’t go after players with prototypical size in this draft, which is perfectly fine. Undersized players make it all the time in the NFL.
4
Rams targeted above-average athletes
Only three players in the Rams’ class had relative athletic scores (RAS) below 8.0. Essentially, that means most of the prospects Los Angeles selected are above-average athletes for their positions. Hampton had the best RAS of any Rams draft pick, earning a score of 9.74. Young was close behind with a score of 9.22. Even Bennett is an above-average athlete, according to the RAS metric.
This is going to be a defense with a lot of players who fly to the ball, while the offense added some juice with Davis Allen and Zach Evans.
The #Rams were another high volume team this year, and most of their picks were top tier #RAS guys. The few that weren't were still above average. pic.twitter.com/GmVcqR8k3V
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) April 29, 2023
5
WR, CB weren’t as big of priorities as expected
It seemed like the Rams were destined to take a wideout or cornerback with one of their first three picks. They chose not to. In fact, they didn’t take either position until the fifth round when they selected Puka Nacua at No. 177 overall. They then followed that up with Hodges-Tomlinson at No. 182, filling that need in the secondary before the draft was over.
Coming out of the draft, the receiving corps and cornerback group still look underwhelming. Van Jefferson remains the No. 2 receiver and there’s no guarantee Hodges-Tomlinson will beat out Cobie Durant, Derion Kendrick or Robert Rochell.
Perhaps the Rams will use some of their remaining money to sign a free-agent cornerback or receiver this offseason.
6
Rams will use a pass-rush committee at OLB
With no clear-cut starter at outside linebacker, the Rams are most likely going to use a committee approach to that position. We could see a deep rotation that includes Michael Hoecht, Daniel Hardy, Keir Thomas, Byron Young, Nick Hampton and Ochaun Mathis.
They didn’t necessarily select one of the top pass rushers in this class and even Young in the third round will need to earn a roster spot. Adding an experienced veteran in free agency would be wise for Los Angeles but with limited cap space, the options will be few and far between.
7
Stetson Bennett was their guy
When the Rams picked Bennett in the fourth round, Ian Rapoport said on NFL Network that he was Les Snead’s favorite quarterback in the class. The Rams could’ve traded up for Will Levis or taken Hendon Hooker. Instead, they traded back in the third round to pick up an extra fourth-rounder, which is what the Rams used to select Bennett.
“Credit to Les and really Zac Robinson and Mike LaFleur and really his scouting staff where they had identified Stetson early in the process and we wanted to have an all-Athens UGA quarterback room and that’s what we’ve got right now. So it was all good,” McVay said.
They now have their backup quarterback on the roster and potentially a future replacement for Matthew Stafford if the veteran hangs up his cleats soon. Bennett is 25 years old already so his upside isn’t as great as some other prospects, but he’s a winner and has played in the biggest games in college football.
