With 48 players under contract, the Rams are a touch over halfway to filling the 9o-man Organized Team Activities (OTAs) roster for the late spring workouts. To fill those 42 spots, the L.A. personnel department will cobble together a mix of pro free agents, the draft, and undrafted rookie free agents. The opening wave of free agent negotiations run March 9 through 11 and can be officially consummated on the first day of the NFL’s new year, March 12. The NFL Draft takes place April 23-25. According
to nfldraftbuzz.com, the Rams will have 10 picks in the lottery, #’s 13, 29, 61, 93, 167, 205, 208, 232, 250, and 256. As soon as Round 7 concludes, the race to add undrafted rookies begins. The Rams usually sign 15-20 prospects during this time.
Before we can get into what the Rams need to build out the roster, it makes sense to take stock of what’s there to build on. First, clearing up the designations, under contract is just that, currently signed through the 2026 season. The Reserve/Future contract fit into that parameter as well, but won’t be counted as official until March 12. Unrestricted free agents (UFA) can negotiate with any or all teams, while Restricted Free Agents and Exclusive Rights Free Agents are tied to L.A., if the braintrust wants to keep them. There are some hoops to jump through, but basically, the Rams hold the last right of refusal on players in these two designations.
Quarterback (2)
Under contract: Matthew Stafford, Stetson Bennett
UFA: Jimmy Garappolo
Is JimmyG worth another go-round at QB#2? Worked out fine i 2024 and ’25, but are we really comfortable with a 34 year-old backup that has thrown 41 passes over two seasons, all of those in one mop up start. And what do we think of Bennett? It’s fair to say he’s shown some growth and had a very good 2025 preseason, but is he ready for the step up and more importantly, be trusted to run a regular-season McVay offense?
Even it’s just to keep Stafford’s arm fresh during camp and take exhibition snaps, I’d like to see the Rams bring in an athletic, toolsy mid/late round QB. There are quite few in this draft class.
Running back (3)
Under contract: Kyren Williams, Blake Corum, Jarquez Hunter
UFA: Ronnie Rivers
Good one-two punch. It would be very interesting if Hunter really shows out in camp and preseason games. Would McVay entertain the thought of a three-headed rotation? Rivers is a decent bottom of the roster guy, but why not try to add a little of an explosive element in the later rounds?
Wide receiver (8)
Under contract: Puka Nacua, Davante Adams, Jordan Whittington, Konata Mumpfield
Reserve/Future contract: Brennan Presley, Tyler Scott, Tru Edwards, Mario Williams
UFA: Tutu Atwell
ERFA: Xavier Smith
The only addition Nacua needs is soap, he’s just plain filthy. L.A. could bring back the whole unit intact, but it’s probably time to call off the Tutu/Xavier experiment and consider completely resetting the “little guy” role. That done, (aside from Nacua) there’s an easily recognizable lack of explosive firepower.
I don’t think I would go the free agent route. This is a deep WR class, plenty of shapes, sizes and styles to choose from and there’s plenty of mid/late sleepers with playmaking skills. Still want a little guy? There’s at least a half-dozen prospects with open-field running skills that could do double-duty on kick/punt returns.
Tight end (4)
Under contract: Terrance Ferguson, Colby Parkinson, Davis Allen
Reserve/Future contract: Mark Redman
UFA: Tyler Higbee, Nick Vannett
Good trio to build on. The Rams seem to like the big guys, that’s fine. In this draft class, there are some interesting tight ends that fit the Rams mold. It doesn’t make sense to spend real money here in free agency, even with all the 12 and 13 formations, targeting the tight ends is generally an afterthought.
Offensive line (9)
Under contract: Alaric Jackson, Steve Avila, Coleman Shelton, Kevin Dotson, Warren McClendon, Beaux Limmer
Reserve/Future contract: Dylan McMahon, AJ Arcuri, Garrett Bowles
UFA: Rob Havenstein, DJ Humphries, David Quessenberry
ERFA: Justin Dedich
Again, bringing back all starters is a great foundation. Wouldn’t mind getting a quality swing tackle, the draft would likely be the best place to search. But don’t be cheap, spend decent draft capital or a proven free agent. The Rams paid Joe Noteboom pretty damn well for a number of years. The old retreads are fine in a throwaway season, but there’s no reason not to expect the Rams to be contenders and keeping a 38-year old QB upright should be paramount.
Special teams (1)
Under contract: Ethan Evans
UFA: Jake McQuaide
ERFA: Harrison Meevis
Certainly the Rams will keep Meevis and he’ll come at a good price. If McQuaide wants to play another season or two, he should be brought back as well. Probably never should have let him get away in the first place, he was an iron man for 10 Rams seasons. Now 38, his career had gone downhill after leaving L.A., but he sure appeared solid in his nine 2025 games.
Defensive line (6)
Under contract: Kobie Turner, Poona Ford, Braden Fiske, Tyler Davis, Ty Hamilton
Reserve/Future contract: Bill Norton
Another unit back intact. The Top 4 are quite a solid rotation. Ty Hamilton will be under scrutiny in camp and preseason. While it’s a lot to expect a Round 5 player to step right in and be successful, the flip side is that there are a lot of free agents that can take up a DT #5 role. This is pretty deep draft class for the defensive line and something to keep in mind, the Rams use of four-down fronts could bring those athletic tweeners into play. By that I mean the traditional 4-3 defensive ends, 275-290 players outside with bigger defensive tackles inside.
Edge (4)
Under contract: Byron Young, Jared Verse, Josaiah Stewart, Desjuan Johnson
RFA: Nick Hampton, Keir Thomas
I really like the trio of Young, Verse, and Stewart. I wonder if the Johnson will try to “lean” out his body this offseason to fit the traditional edge role or if he will bounce between edge and defensive line. Since what the Rams need here is as a rotational player, I wouldn’t mind seeing a veteran free agent acquired. Then I’d grab a developmental rookie. This a good edge class and the will be some talent left in the mid/late rounds.
Off-ball linebacker (4)
Under contract: Nate Landman, Omar Speights, Shaun Dolac
Reserve/Future contract: Elias Neal
UFA: Troy Reeder
Like them or not, the linebackers are all going to be here for another two seasons. Interested to see how much Dolac has improved in Year 2. Many like to make fun of him, but bringing back Reeder as a cost effective core special teams player is a good move. I would like to see the Rams add a linebacker with some cover skills, even if just to compete with the others. Landman and Speights, although pretty good defending the run, are too often exploited when in pass coverage.
Safety (4)
Under contract: Quentin Lake, Kam Kinchens, Josh Wallace, Jaylen McCollough
Reserve/Future contract: Tanner Ingle, Nate Valcarcel
UFA: Kam Curl
If you like the way the Rams secondary played last year, the re-sign Curl and you have the whole gang back together, Deja Vu, all over again. I don’t dislike him, but he’s the only one not under contract and easily replaced. The Rams just re-upped Lake and he’s just average. If we’re striving for okay, that would be two moves in that direction. I’ve said it in here a dozen times, bring in a true free safety, even if he’s just used in rotation. Put Lake back in a full-time safety role.
Cornerback (3)
Under contract: Darious Williams, Emmanuel Forbes
Reserve/Future contract: Cam Lampkin
UFA: Cobie Durant, Roger McCreary, Ahkello Witherspoon, Derion Kendrick
I’m all for a total rebuild here, it wouldn’t bother me to see the whole group jettisoned. A mix of two highly-touted rookies and three or four free agents would likely do the trick. I wouldn’t get too cute on UDFAs, look for high floor prospects from competitive schools. It wouldn’t be unprecedented, when McVay took over in 2017, his clearing out the dead wood was just as instrumental as his additions.
Defensive lament
There are a lot of positive things about the Rams roster, the NFL’s #1 offense returns almost completely intact. Most of us fans would agree that a couple of incremental additions, a little more explosive force in the supporting roles and an extra offensive lineman would likely be enough to repeat, or dare I say, exceed this years output.
Now on to the defense and by that, I mean the pass defense. I’m not blaming everything on the secondary, but the pass defense has in the bottom half of the league for three years. It’s not irreparable, the Rams made a concerted effort to improve run defense over the last off season and achieved it.
It is imperative the Rams put a chunk of their cap space and/or draft capital into the secondary. The road to the playoffs goes through the NFC West, 3 0f 4 teams are well-coached and weak areas won’t go unexploited. Overall, the Rams roster has much more good than bad, but the tinkering never ends to keep the Super Bowl window open. The Rams, while under McVay’s lead, will be always be known for, and win with the offense, but as the season winds and tightens down, the defense has to be able to step up and pull its own weight.
