The Los Angeles Rams start 2026 training camp in under three weeks, with all players reporting on July 25. From Matthew Stafford to Puka Nacua and Myles Garrett, the Rams have plenty of star power who command attention every time they play or practice. But they won’t be alone.
Here are six other players who will demand a lot of attention when camp starts at the end of the month.
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QB Ty Simpson
Not only is Simpson going to be the biggest story at Rams training camp, he will be one of the biggest stories at any training camp. There are a few reasons he stands out more than most rookies, most quarterbacks, and even Fernando Mendoza:
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Mendoza was expected, Simpson was day one’s major surprise
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He’s the potential heir apparent on the Rams, an elite offense
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Simpson has been highly-criticized for a first-round QB, both before and since the draft
Most first-round quarterback rookies get overrated, but not Simpson. It’s not every year that former GMs go out of their way to call those players a “career back” like Scot McGloughan did.
Simpson goes into his first NFL training camp with much less experience than the typical pro quarterback, first-round or not.
With all the time that Simpson spent as a backup at Alabama, he would be used to getting second or third-team reps. However, this situation is even more unique than that:
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Because of Matthew Stafford’s age and his back, it’s likely that Simpson will get plenty of reps with the starters.
The pressure will be on and both believers and skeptics will be loud every time he does something notable at camp. All eyes will be on Ty Simpson when camp begins. For better or for worse.
Davante Adams got the ball rolling on this one.
Adams is notoriously hard on young receivers and won’t praise them unless he really means it. Does this mean Mumpfield is far more special than people realize or is Adams just getting soft in old age?
Most fans have moved on from Jordan Whittington after two seasons, at least in terms of expecting him to become “the next Puka” like many were claiming he’d be in 2024. That’s obviously not going to happen, and Mumpfield is “the new guy”, or at least, newer than Whittington.
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Of course, now C.J. Daniels is the new guy. But no, none of these receivers will be Puka or close to it.
Even so, Adams is excited about Mumpfield and so are many fans, so there will be plenty of attention on the receivers to see who wins the third role on offense. Even if McVay runs heavy 12 and 13 personnel, a WR3 will get a lot of snaps in 2026. In the last 10 games of 2025, including playoffs, Mumpfield got 24 targets.
If we extrapolate that over a full season, Mumpfield could get between 40-50 targets from Stafford. That’s a great opportunity for a 23-year-old in the NFL.
Fans want to see a receiver step up to be a long-term option next to Nacua. The current number two receiver says that Mumpfield is the one to watch.
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OT Keagen Trost
Similarly to Mumpfield, Trost steps into a great opportunity on the depth chart to win over Rams fans because …
a) He’s young….ish (he’s already 25)
b) He’s a third-round pick
c) He’s not one of these players in trouble or entering a contract year
If Trost has a great training camp, now Sean McVay has options for next season and next year. Four of L.A.’s five starting OL are set to be 2027 free agents and Trost could theoretically backup three of them. The fifth, A.J. Jackson, is facing a long suspension next season.
So Trost has an opportunity to win a starting job out of camp, but he definitely has a chance to prove to coaches that the team can let go of their worst starter at guard or tackle and replace him with a cheaper option in 2027. The most-likely player could be a guard, depending on the progress of right tackle Warren McClendon.
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Fans don’t typically watch offensive linemen in camp—or know what they’re seeing (nor do reporters know what they’re seeing from OL)—but those reports on Trost will be highly entertaining.
McVay was ecstatic that the Rams were able to get Hunter in the fourth-round last year. Maybe he was just elated to think of what he could do for the offense in 2026.
The only story about Hunter’s rookie season is that he was a non-story. Despite how eager fans were to see if he could push Blake Corum for the backup role, Hunter played zero offensive snaps last year. There are virtually no stories about Hunter recently, but there will be next month during camp.
Coming off of a final season at Auburn in which he averaged 6.4 yards per carry, Hunter must be champing at the bit to get a carry. And even though Kyren Williams is a very good starter and Corum has turned into a great complement, the Rams aren’t going to hold Hunter back in camp unless they’ve given up on him.
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Will he play in the preseason? Because if he’s on the bench during the preseason, that means McVay still likes him a lot. If he’s playing, it could be that the Rams are dangling him as a trade chip.
A lot of people have forgotten about Hunter. Those people will remember next month.
in the same way that some people were stunned that the Rams could get Nate Landman for so cheap last year, so too are there folks thinking that Stuard is L.A.’s linebacker steal of the year. The Rams signed Stuard to a two-year, $5 million contract, mostly thanks to his reputation as the Lions special teams captain.
But McVay has already said that he thinks Stuard could contribute on defense.
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The 27 year old Stuard started five games for the Colts in 2024, his only starts in his career. Stuard made 14 special teams tackle in 2025, which is a phenomenal number for anybody.
Given L.A.’s potential issues next to Landman with Omar Speights and Shaun Dolac, it could be Stuard stepping up and into a major defensive role in 2026. It’ll largely depend on his camp, which is definitely going to be an opportunity for Stuard to prove he’s more than a special teamer.
McVay needs both. Special teams help and linebacker help. For that reason, many will be hyper-focused on Stuard’s camp reports.
In addition to the obvious attention on the Rams’ other two new defensive veterans, Myles Garrett and Trent McDuffie, there’s an undercurrent of vibes going to Jaylen Watson because he’s been able to hide in the shadows of those two players. Plenty of people still think that it’s actually Watson who is the most important addition.
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If the Rams had not traded for McDuffie, then Watson would have been the most notable addition L.A. made all year prior to trading for Garrett.
With a three-year, $51 million contract, fans want to see if Watson can become L.A.’s defensive MVP next season. Why him? Well, if McDuffie is shutting down the guy he’s covering, a lot of interception opportunities could go Watson’s way.
As teammates on the Chiefs last season, Watson got two interceptions opposite of McDuffie.
McDuffie and Garrett already came to the Rams with a lot of fans. But by the end of camp, Watson could be a fan favorite.
