The time has come, one of the best experiences in this league is when you get to the draft rooms, mock who’s going where, and be prepared for your guy to get taken just before you can get them. It’s Draft night and the Rams, they’re looking to utilize the draft to pick up guys in the spots that they were either questioning, when going into the next season. Or, getting those studs that will prove to be the talk of the town in Los Angeles.
Time is ticking, and as we’re off. The Rams and Coach Afro are looking at the QB position for their first pick. Matt isn’t on the team anymore and despite offering Jared Goff a contract, he wasn’t willing to take what was initially talked about. So with the paper put in, the Rams selected Taylen Green, the rookie out of Arkansas. This was a guy that the team thought, hey, he has the physical prowess. Are we willing to take the time to develop him into a star. And the answer was yes. There were definitely QBs on the board that may be better now than he is, but with time, which Coach Afro loves to do, Taylen Green has the making of a prospect that can haunt the defenses in the future.
Due to the Falcons in the 2025 draft trading with us, we were able to pick up their 1st as well. We got some calls with some teams to trade back. We thought we had made a deal with an owner who we were communicating with earlier in the offseason. The call disconnected midway through though, which made the trade that the Rams were happy with accepting didn’t go through since the Colts didn’t hear that part. It was no big deal though as the guy they were going to get anyways when moving back, was still picked up. RT Francis Mauigoa, from the U. He’s one of the best olinemen that were in the draft and with the retirement of Rob Havenstein, what better way to address it than with the best RT. Francis will continue what Rob started, protecting the outside from any threats.
2nd round, there were some guys that we would have taken beforehand that weren’t there at all, but we found a guy that would fill a position of need for us and that would be Jaylen Blackwell, the LB from Boston College. Last season, Coach Afro had noticed that while Speights and Dolac were solid guys, Nate Landman wasn’t as good as he needed to be, he was slow and made some plays in the rushing attack, but would become a ghost in the passing game besides 1 or 2 picks. Jaylen changes that with his speed alone, he has the capabilities to fly around the field and get to the ball quickly. It was a no brainer to have him come to Los Angeles.
Due to the trade with the Vikings not falling through, the team wasn’t able to pick up another 2nd, leaving them with no picks until the 5th round. With that rounds starting, the team took T, Gunnar Hansen, out of FSU. he is another cog in the wheel of building that oline that saw a decline in production on the left side. He is going to be battling with Alaric Jackson for that spot to protect the backside of Taylen Green for years.
The team has 1 super star in the S position with Kamren Curl, and Kamren Kinchens has shown capable play in the starting role, but there is no depth behind them. Coach Afro loves to see 3 S on the team that can see playing time so they took a chance with Duce Chestnut, out of Syracuse. He wasn’t the first thought for the team in the draft, but he was looked at for how skilled he can be, so there was no doubt he was going to get passed up.
With the 6th round starting, the team had 2 picks and with the first one, they took T Tristan Leigh, out of Clemson. This dude was a former 5 star recruit, and has the build of a C. With some question marks with those already on the roster, it was something the team thought was right to go and pick. He looks to be fighting for that starting job and can easily win it with who’s there if he grinds it out in practice. The second pick was initially going to be used by the team, but Pittsburgh was looking to get it, and when offering a 5th in the next years draft. It was an easy accept.
The final round wasn’t the biggest focus for the team, they grabbed what they needed beforehand, so this pick was seen to pick up a guy for depth. the Southern Miss talent in CB Josh Moten was the pick for the team, he has some speed to him so he does have the opportunity to get some playing time here and there. But his main focus will be watching those vets like Marlon and learning from them so when his name gets called, it’s for successful plays, not a lowlight for him.
As the draft ended, some coaches were calling that this class wasn’t great. But with the guys that we got, we’re more than happy with the results and Coach Afro can’t wait to see each guy thriving in the Blue and Yellow.
