State Of The League: Los Angeles Rams

Training camp and the NFL preseason are here! We are going over all 32 teams’ offseason moves, division by division: their player personnel changes, projected preseason depth charts, and more! We started the State Of The NFC West in Arizona, but we now head to Cali to check out the Los Angeles Rams!

Los Angeles Rams Preseason Projected Depth Chart

*BOLD player name = Rookie*

Los Angeles Rams 2021 NFL Draft Class

Round 2 (57th overall): WR Tutu Atwell, Louisville

Round 3 (103rd): LB Ernest Jones, South Carolina

Round 4 (117th): DL Bobby Brown III, Texas A&M

Round 4 (130th): CB Robert Rochell, Central Arkansas

Round 4 (141st): WR/TE Jacob Harris, UCF

Round 5 (174th): EDGE Earnest Brown IV, Northwestern

Round 7 (233rd): RB Jake Funk, Maryland

Round 7 (249th): WR Ben Skowronek, Notre Dame

Round 7 (252nd): EDGE Chris Garrett, Concordia-St. Paul

Los Angeles Rams Offseason Player Personnel Moves

Los Angeles Rams Offseason Notes/Review

• The Los Angeles Rams will have a new defensive coordinator this season. Brandon Staley will still be in Los Angeles, but he left the Rams to be the head coach of the Chargers. He was replaced by former Atlanta defensive coordinator/interim head coach Raheem Morris. Morris took over as head coach of the Falcons last season after Dan Quinn got fired due to an 0-5 start. Atlanta went 4-7 with Morris at the helm. The Rams are learning a new defensive scheme, but with Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey, this should be one of the top defenses in the NFL again this season. How much will the defense miss key contributors like John Johnson and Michael Brockers?
• The first big quarterback domino to fall – and one of the biggest moves of the entire offseason – was the Rams trading for Matthew Stafford. The team traded quarterback Jared Goff, two 1st round NFL Draft picks, and a 3rd round draft pick to the Lions for Stafford. Stafford is seen as a big upgrade at the position, and has been one of the better/underrated quarterbacks in the NFL over the course of his career in Detroit, but has yet to win a playoff game. The Rams are expecting that to change this season as they hope Stafford is the final piece that pushes this team to the top of a tough NFC.
• The Rams didn’t add any high end free agents this offseason after the Stafford trade, but did bring in DeSean Jackson in free agency. Jackson is 35 years old, but can still take the top off of a defense. He will compete with Van Jefferson for targets as the WR3 in what should be a high flying passing attack. Even if Jackson deals with injuries and falls in the pecking order, he still offers a downfield threat that can stretch a defense vertically. 
• Runningback depth will be something to keep an eye on after Cam Akers’ season ending torn Achilles this offseason. Darrell Henderson will get the bulk of the work out of the backfield, but depth behind him is questionable at best at this time. Second year back Xavier Jones and rookie 7th round NFL Draft pick Jake Funk are the top options battling for the backup running back spot. The team may still bring in a veteran back at some point as insurance in case Henderson were to miss time.
• Don’t expect much right away from this year’s NFL Draft haul. The team had no first-round pick this year, and there doesn’t appear to be an immediate starter in this group. Ernest Jones is competing to be part of the rotation at inside linebacker early on in the season, Robert Rochell has tons of talent and should push David Long for playing time, and Tutu Atwell could be a factor as a return man, but overall this Draft class is slated for backup duty, special teams, and rotational roles as rookies.
  
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