One of the biggest questions coming out of the L.A. Rams draft was not who they drafted, but who they didn’t draft: The Rams did add a receiver in the sixth round, long after the league tends to stop finding starters, but where L.A. would have to turn for depth at the position next season remains unanswered.
Given that Davante Adams is 33 and was already banged up at times in 2025, and that Puka Nacua is a receiver who lays his body on the line with practically every catch, it’s more likely than not that the Rams will need to lean on backups at some point to to help lift Matthew Stafford through his age-38 season.
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On the current depth chart, who would that be if the Rams need a starting receiver for a game, a month, or longer?
Jordan Whittington, 25, season 3
Whittington actually had more production as a rookie in 2024 than he did in 2025:
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22 catches for 293 yards in year one
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18 catches for 171 yards in year two
He provides additional value as a kickoff returner and Whittington had two catches for 35 yards in L.A.’s playoff win over the Bears.
The list of receivers in the entire history of professional football to be late draft picks (6th round in this case) who did not breakout in the first two seasons to then become reliable starters is extremely short. Maybe it happens once a decade?
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Through 36 career games, Whittington has yet to score a touchdown and he only averaged 9.5 yards per catch last season.
Whittington was already in the perfect place for a receiver of his caliber: He’s about a WR4.
Even if you compare his case to someone like Josh Reynolds, there’s a former Rams receiver who improved in his second season and by the time he was Whittington’s age had already become a starter and scored nine career touchdowns. And that’s just Josh Reynolds.
If Whittington had to start for a 4-game stretch or something, the Rams would survive. He’s probably already maxing out as someone who gets about one target per week.
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Konata Mumpfield, 23, season 2
Seventh round picks who turn into quality NFL receivers are predictably even more rare than sixth round picks. In fact, getting 92 yards out of Mumpfield as a rookie last year in itself is pretty remarkable.
Not quite as much as Tez Johnson (322 yards, 5 TDs) of the Bucs but Mumpfield wasn’t going to get many opportunities in L.A..
Mumpfield isn’t the biggest (6’1, 188) and certainly not the fastest (4.59) so it was not by accident that the league passed on him over 240 times. Hanging onto a role at all this year will be a major win for Mumpfield. He’s not likely to fill in for any starter if someone goes down, perhaps nothing more than mid-game or one start.
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The Rams probably expect that their rookie sixth rounder is already ahead of Mumpfield on the depth chart.
C.J. Daniels, 24, rookie
The increasing commonality of 24 and 25-year-old rookies because of NIL and transfer portal will be hailed by some as a win for both levels. I think it’s an omen. A bad sign, and some have argued that most day three picks this year should have gone undrafted if it were not for NIL payments that kept the usual day 3 picks from entering the draft this year.
Only time will tell.
Daniels spent six years on college football teams between Liberty (so far back that he spent TWO seasons with Malik Willis), LSU, and Miami.
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If he had played a decade earlier, Daniels would have gone to Liberty and then his eligibility would have run out in 2023 and maybe he’s in kind of the same boat if he had entered the draft after that season: 1,067 yards, 10 touchdowns.
The biggest difference would be that then Daniels would be 22 instead of 24.
He was the number three receiver in Miami last year, so could he really be the number three receiver on an NFL team? Aren’t number three NFL receivers usually number one college receivers?
The plan for Daniels, as it would be any sixth round pick, would be to throw him into a practice setting and just see what happens. It worked for Puka. (No, Daniels is not Puka.)
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Good news for Daniels is that with competition like Whittington and Mumpfield for now, he might have a legitimate shot of working his way into the fringes of the game day depth chart.
However, if the Rams sign a veteran free agent, and there are plenty out there, then this whole depth chart shifts down a spot and we may not see much of any of these players in 2026. Which, if Sean McVay runs as much 12 and 13 personnel as he’s expected to, would be the case anyway.
That’s only if Puka and Adams are available though, which is hard to believe for 17 games.
How many games will Puka and Adams play?
Nobody knows the answer to that question, but there are reasons to be wary of L.A.’s ability to stay on the field:
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Puka Nacua exited at least 3 games last season with an injury, but luckily no injury was serious
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Puka missed 6 games in 2024
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Puka has checked in and out of rehab
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Puka is trying to convince the Rams to give him a contract extension, which could lead to a holdout or a hold-in
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Davante Adams turns 34 in December
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Adams missed 3 games last season
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Adams missed 3 games in 2024
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Adams is the oldest projected starting WR in the NFL next season
For context that Rams fans would get right away: Cooper Kupp is a year younger than Adams and he played in all 20 possible games last season.
Kupp may not be as good as Adams, but the Seahawks prepared for his potential absences or loss of skill by re-signing Rashid Shaheed. Will the Rams now add a veteran receiver to prepare for the same with Adams?
More Rams receiver depth;
The Rams would have a hard time replacing Puka and Adams with anybody, so it’s not like that’s going to be good news regardless, if either of them miss time. However, who steps up will be an interesting competition to watch over the next four months.
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