Who will make the Rams opening roster?

With Los Angeles Rams OTAs winding down to next week’s finale, a mandatory three-day mini camp, L.A. is officially in pursuit of Super Bowl LXI. This season’s extravaganza will be held on the Rams home field, SoFi Stadium, February 14, 2027.

Having just come up short in the past two seasons, the Rams continue pursuit, making off season moves to solidify weak areas of the roster and hopefully, get them over the top. OTAs are mostly about scheme change installations, getting the the team acclimated to new teammates, and preaching the “Rams way”. Still it’s not too early to project who will be the Rams opening 53 players. There may be a lot of time left until final cut downs, but the depth of the roster only leaves a handful of open spots.

Here’s how I would fill them and some of my preseason thoughts. Opening roster in bold.

Quarterback (3)

Starter: Matthew Stafford

Primary backups: Ty Simpson, Stetson Bennett

Cut/practice squad: Matthew Caldwell

The only question at QB is who would come off the bench if Stafford is injured. If the absence is a longer term, let Simpson loose to sink or swim. In a short term, there is an argument to be made for Bennett, he has shown incremental year-to-year improvement during preseason games and in theory, should have a good grasp of the offensive principles in Year 3.

Running back (3)

Starter: Kyren Williams

Primary backups: Blake Corum, Jarquez Hunter

Roster bubble: Ronnie Rivers

Cut/practice squad: Jordan Waters, Dean Conners

Luxury problems here. The Rams could likely get away with rostering three backs and keep two on the practice squad. KWill has three straight seasons of 1100+ yard rushing and double-digit touchdowns with a catch rate at 75 percent, yet, Corum showed explosive qualities last year and deserves more work. A single offensive rep would be an uptick for Hunter, who remains stalled behind L.A.’s talented tandem. The bottom three of the unit would all likely clear waivers and be eligible for the practice squad, Rivers is a known quantity for his adequate all-around play, Conners gives of the same vibes, but is quicker, and Waters offers a big body for short yardage.

Wide receiver (6)

Starters: Puka Nacua, Davante Adams

Primary backups: Jordan Whittington, CJ Daniels, Konata Mumpfield, Xavier Smith

Roster battle/bubble: Tyler Scott, Harold Presley

Cut/practice squad: Mario Williams, Tru Edwards

If both L.A.’s stars, Nacua and Adams can stay healthy, the lack of depth at WR#3 will be mostly negated. But doubts will linger, if one or both get nicked up and misses extended action. Whittington gets a real chance to prove he can handle the Rams role that he played in college, the quiet guy who does tough-guy work underneath and around the line of scrimmage. Mumpfield and Daniels are similar athletically, adequate. Daniels appears to be stronger at the catch point, while Mumpfield should be improved over his rookie season. Smith holds the sixth and final roster spot, if only because the Rams did not invest in a viable replacement as punt returner. Presley and Scott could challenge him for the “little guy” spot by proving they can return kicks. Williams and Edwards are long shots, but both had their moments in last year’s preseason.

Tight end (5)

Starters: Colby Parkinson, Terrance Ferguson

Primary backups: Tyler Higbee, Davis Allen, Max Klare

Roster bubble: Dan Villari

Cut/practice squad: Rohan Jones, Mark Redman

The Rams have the depth here to make up for the lack at WR#3. All of the condensed sets, stacked receivers, and motion create a scenario where three wide receiver and two tight end formations could be considered interchangeable. The vets, Parkinson, Higbee, and Allen all have a solid grasp on the offense and good hands to boot, they combine for a shade under 70 percent catch rate. Ferguson should have a bigger taste of the offense in Year 2, he’s shown the juice to get deep, now needs to show it with the ball in his hands on shorter routes. Klare shares those same traits. Villari is interesting because of his athletic skills, but has to climb over too many bodies. Redman spent last year on the practice squad and the best blocker, while Jones will really have to put his athleticism to work on special teams to have a possible chance

Offensive line (9)

Starters: Alaric Jackson, Steve Avila, Coleman Shelton, Kevin Dotson, Warren McClendon

Primary backups: Keegan Trost, Justin Dedich, Beaux Limmer, David Quessenberry

Roster battle/bubble: Wyatt Bowles

Cut/practice squad: AJ Arcuri, Dylan McMahon, Austin Blaaske, Bryce Henderson, Chad Lindberg

Shrewd moves have taken the disaster of 2022 and turned it into a team strength. Fans need to enjoy what may be the final ride with this group. Four of five starters, Dotson, Avila, Shelton, and McClendon are in the final season of their contracts. L.A. doesn’t have the depth to simply plug in another starting-tier body. Trost had very good college film and can play both inside and out, he could/should provide some relief. I think it’s fair to say that Dedich, Limmer, and Quessenberry are best suited to back up work. Bowles had a good preseason last year at guard and center, his second-year play deserves to be looked at for a possible step up. Arcuri enter his fifth year in L.A., but has been mainly a practice squad player. McMahon hasn’t broken through either. Of the three undrafted, Blaaske and Henderson are long shots, while Lindberg is already on the Injured Reserve List.

Special teams (3)

Starters: Ethan Evans, Harrison Meevis, Joe Cardona

Obviously, he L.A. braintrust is comfortable with the specialists, deciding not to bring in OTA competition. While Evans won’t be mentioned with the leagues best, he goes a good job of dropping punts inside the opponents 20 yard line. Meevis settled down the kicking game last year and is hopefully ready to settle in for a long term. The Rams made Cardona the highest-paid long snapper in the NFL, the Navy Lieutenant Commander brings leadership, 11 years of experience, and two Super Bowl rings.-=

Defensive line (6)

Starters: Kobie Turner, Poona Ford, Braden Fiske

Primary backup: Tyler Davis

Roster battle/bubble: Ty Hamilton, Larrell Murchison, Tim Keenan

Cut/practice squad: Bill Norton, Jaxson Moi, Payton Zdroik

Under Sean McVay, the number of interior players on the opening roster has never been less than six. The Rams have a solid rotation of four in Turner, Ford, Fiske, and Davis. DT #5 last year was Hamilton and he had his share of growing pains. Murchison is a safe choice as depth, he’s got veteran savvy and works tirelessly. Keenan and Norton will have to show that they are not limited to nose tackle, the Rams insist that their interior players have the versatility for multiple alignments. They don’t use a “set” nose tackle like they did in early iterations of the defense. Zdroik and Moi have a long road ahead.

Edge (4)

Starters: Myles Garrett, Byron Young

Primary backups: Josaiah Stewart, Desjuan Johnson

Roster bubble:: Keir Thomas

Cut/practice squad: Wesley Bailey, Darryl Peterson, Eddie Walls

It will be interesting to see how the Rams deploy Garrett, in Cleveland he played a very high percentage (80+) of snaps on the right flank, well outside the opposing tackle (9T), and with a hand in the dirt. Interestingly, Young lined up almost exclusively on the left side last season and led NFL edge defenders dropping into coverage. Stewart and Johnson seemed well-equipped to fit as primary backups. Stewart as the moveable piece and Johnson as the bigger, power guy. Thomas won’t be battling edges for a roster spot, more likely one of the defnsive interior players. Bailey and Peterson to the practice squad, while Walls recently suffered a leg injury in OTAs that required an air cast.

Off-ball linebacker (5)

Starters: Nate Landman, Omar Speights

Primary backups: Sean Dolac, Grant Stuard

Roster battle/bubble: Nikhai Green-Hill, Elias Neal

The Rams didn’t do much to improve the pass coverage capability of this unit over the off season. For better or worse, Landman and Speights appear to be locked in as starters. L.A. did add Stuard, but he’s been a special teams warrior, rather than defensive stopper. Over his five seasons, he’s chalked up over 50 defensive reps one time. Although Dolac did well on special teams as a rookie, he didn’t mount a real starting challenge and is coming off a late-season knee injury. While I like Green-Hill’s college game film, he’ll really have to show out in camp. He and Neal are battling not only within the unit, but with all the other bottom of the roster special teams candidates.

Safety (5)

Starters: Quentin Lake, Kamren Curl

Primary backups: Kamren Kinchens, Jaylen McCollough

Roster battle/bubble: Nick Anderson

Cut/practice squad: Tanner Ingle, Nate Valcarcel

Since the group returns intact, one must assume that the Rams braintrust laid the bulk of last year’s pass coverage woes on the corners. Lake and Curl were signed to extensions through 2028 and both Kinchens and McCollough have two years left on their rookie deals. So barring catastrophe, there won’t be much change at safety for awhile. It’s not the most athletic unit, but very high in football IQ. In OTA presser’s, Sean McVay has been praising the versatility of all his defensive backs. Anderson fits into the Rams mold and is good tackler for special teams work. Tanner has been around awhile without breaking through. Valcarcel is a change of pace, a natural free safety.

Cornerback (4)

Primary: OJ McDuffie, Jaylen Watson, Emmanuel Forbes

Roster battle/bubble: Josh Wallace, Al’zillion Hamilton, Cam Lampkin, Nyzier Fourqurean

Cut/practice squad: Alex Johnson, Drey Norwood

However they are used, McDuffie and Watson promise to be upgrades over last season. Hopefully Forbes grasps the gravity of his precarious situation, a good season (even as a backup) gets him another payday, a bad one throws him into the league minimum, depth piece pool. With the lack of experience behind the Top 3, Wallace may have a better lane to the roster as CB#4 rather than S/CB hybrid. The remainder of the unit, Lampkin, Hamilton, Fourqurean, Johnson, and Norwood are all from the undrafted ranks. Hamilton strikes me as best of the lot on college film. Fourqurean might be better suited as a safety.

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Opening Rams Roster