With the Los Angeles Rams a month into their voluntary offseason training activities (OTAs), things are beginning to heat up at the Woodland Hills training facility. L.A. is ready to take to the field en masse for Phase 3 of spring workouts, organized offense/defense work, on May 26. The rookie mini-camp (May 8-10) just finished up, so the yearlings now join the field with vets, who have been in-house since April 20, for limited individual/positional work.
OTAs are broken into three phases over a nine-week
period, according to Article 21 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement here’s how it breaks down:
- Phase One consists of the first two weeks of the program with activities limited to meetings, strength and conditioning, and physical rehabilitation only.
- Phase Two consists of the next three weeks of the program. On-field workouts may include individual or group instruction and drills, as well as “perfect play drills,” and drills and plays with offensive players lining up across from offensive players and defensive players lining up across from defensive players, conducted at a walk-through pace. No live contact or team offense vs. team defense drills are permitted.
- Phase Three consists of the next four weeks of the program. Teams may conduct a total of 10 days of organized team practice activity, or “OTAs”. No live contact is permitted, but 7-on-7, 9-on-7, and 11-on-11 drills are permitted.
L,A, has scheduled full team workouts for May 26-28, June 1-2, June 4, June 8-9, and June 11. While these spring activities are voluntary for players, the Rams will hold a mandatory mini-camp on June 15-16. Under Sean McVay, the Rams have used OTAs to not only begin installation of scheme changes from last season and work/teach technique, but more importantly, the Rams way of approaching the game.
Depth and special teams competition starts on Day 1
While the Workouts are voluntary, the Rams have a history of getting a very high percentage of veterans into camp. By its no-contact nature, the early season workouts and drills are not as physically intense as training camp, but make no mistake, real competition starts Day 1. Not trying to be over dramatic, but first impressions can create a narrative and unofficial depth charts get set at this early junction. Every year, fans see players, prospects or veterans whose fortunes rise or fall with OTAs.
To kickoff the 2026 season, L.A.’s major roles are pretty well filled. Currently at 87 players for OTAs, a simple glance of the roster shows 41 locks, but over a 17 game season, depth is often a saving grace. That leaves only 12 openings to scramble for, almost all of them down the depth chart. QB#2 and WR#3 are the most glaring battle openings. In addition, if the Rams are serious about improving special teams, competition at the bottom of the roster could be significant and getting a leg up in OTAs is where it all starts.
Which players do you think will surprise and make a move up the depth chart?
