Even if the Rams front office says this isn’t a total rebuild, Los Angeles’ roster is clearly undergoing a facelift. Jalen Ramsey, Bobby Wagner and Leonard Floyd are all gone, as are Nick Scott, Greg Gaines and David Edwards. The Rams didn’t appear to make much of an effort to retain any of them, either.
Their list of roster needs has grown by the week and heading into the draft, it’s reasonable to think they could address any position outside of punter and kicker on Day 2. Pro Football Focus couldn’t pick just two or three positions of need for the Rams because there are just too many to choose from.
So when naming each team’s biggest needs, PFF wrote “all of them” for the Rams.
The Rams’ fall from Super Bowl grace has been quite the spectacle. Going into the 2023 season, they have two of the best players at their positions in the league in Aaron Donald and Cooper Kupp, but that’s about it. They traded away Jalen Ramsey, released Leonard Floyd, lost Greg Gaines and haven’t brought in anyone other than Hunter Long. This team has major needs in both trenches, at linebacker and in the secondary. Not to mention, quarterback Matthew Stafford dealt with a lot of injuries last season. This is the case of a team with a lot of needs and not a lot of premium draft picks to help.
It’s unlikely the Rams will take a quarterback in the second round, but given Stafford’s uncertain health following a spinal cord contusion, that can’t be ruled out, either. Running back should be further down on the team’s list of needs, too, but Sean McVay loves drafting tailbacks no matter the situation.
Even with all the needs Los Angeles has, it’s fairly obvious which ones should take precedent: edge rusher, cornerback and the offensive line. Currently, the Rams have Michael Hoecht and Daniel Hardy penciled in as the starting outside linebackers. At cornerback, it’s Cobie Durant, Derion Kendrick and Robert Rochell. The O-line has depth but it’s lacking high-end talent.
We’ll see which direction the Rams go early in the draft but there are a lot of possibilities on the table, which should allow them to truly go best player available in Round 2.
