With the 2023 NFL Draft ending what is known as the “Eff them picks” era for the Los Angeles Rams, Les Snead’s latest draft class has had an opportunity to prove themselves.
The Rams selected 14 players in the draft. Some studs, some duds and some leaving more to be desired. With the Rams’ injury woes, a lot of these players have had an opportunity to step up. Some have. Most haven’t.
I grade this class with a C+. There were moments of brilliance from some of these players but not enough to say that the Rams put themselves in a better position to compete with these guys.
Puka Nacua and Byron Young have been standout performers while Steve Avila seems to be on pace to be a solid starter for years to come. However, as previously mentioned, the Rams have had a bunch of injuries and some of the other rookies have failed to step up.
Despite putting two running backs on IR, the Rams have yet to rely on Zach Evans, the rookie from Ole Miss. He sits behind Darrell Henderson Jr. and Royce Freeman.
With Matthew Stafford going down, another former Bulldog, two-time national champion Stetson Bennett, should’ve been slated to get his first NFL start. However, personal issues have sidelined him from team activities. This is a player that was arrested for public intoxication in January of 2023. He was also recorded being drunk and unsuccessfully running away from law enforcement, so there were some minor character concerns. Snead picked Bennett over Aiden O’Connell and Dorian Thompson-Robinson.
Warren McClendon Jr., Davis Allen and Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson have yet to impress despite multiple injuries in their position rooms, while Jason Taylor II, someone I had a very high grade on, has been on the injured reserve list.
The worst part is that picks 69 and 73, which were traded to the Texans and Giants, respectively, turned into Nathaniel “Tank” Dell and Jalin Hyatt, two players who would’ve been instant contributors to the team.
There’s a lot of season left to play and these players still have plenty of opportunities to make an impact, but it’s difficult to say that the draft didn’t live up to standards when there are so many players that the Rams passed on that have become positive contributors to their respective teams.