If you watched the Los Angeles Rams last season, you would know the team was very young with a bevy of unproven talent scattered all over the field. Last season, the Rams had rookie starters on both sides of the football and, to the surprise of many, those rookies blossomed. Fast-forward to this season and it appears the Rams are looking to replicate the success they’ve had via the draft and undrafted free agency.
This season, the Rams will feature a whopping 15 rookies on the active roster, with two additional rookies on IR (KT Leveston and Anthony Goodlow). For reference, the team with the second-most rookies on the roster is the Las Vegas Raiders, as they’ll have 10 rookies on the active roster and five on IR.
The Commanders are third with 14 total rookies on the roster.
The Rams lead the NFL with 17 rookies on the roster for 2024. Raiders are 2nd with 15 followed by the Commanders at 14. The Bears have the fewest with 6.
— Jason_OTC (@Jason_OTC) August 29, 2024
Sean McVay and Les Snead have proven time and time again that they’re among the best in the NFL when it comes to identifying talent. Rookies from last year such as Puka Nacua, Kobie Turner, Steve Avila, and Byron Young proved experience may not be as important as some may have initially believed.
This season will feature much of the same, as rookies Jared Verse, Braden Fiske, Blake Corum, and Omar Speights will be expected to have an impact immediately. Even Jordan Whittington, a sixth-round pick, could see action in what’s become one of the deepest receiving rooms in the NFL. Kicker Joshua Karty was also a sixth-round pick.
The Rams have become trendsetters in the league, from never playing key players in the preseason to completely disregarding the importance of a first-round pick. It seems as though the Rams have found a new formula they’re going to roll out for a second trial when it comes to utilizing rookie talent, and it may not be long before the rest of the NFL tries to replicate this formula.