Rams insider suggests team could take drastically different approach to end of 2026 NFL Draft in order to fix disastrous unit
Will this finally be the year the Rams draft for special teams?
The Los Angeles Rams have made a lot of bandaid moves in an effort to fix their tumultuous special teams units ever since Special Teams Coordinator John Fassel left in 2019. The unit has been in constant freefall ever since, routinely performing among the worst in the league (and in some cases, in history). Last season, every loss on their schedule came at the hands of a special teams gaffe.
The Rams are once again attempting to reset the unit with new STC Bubba Ventrone at the helm. In an “all in” year with Matthew Stafford, the Rams can’t afford for this unit to be historically bad once again. According to one insider, however, the Rams might be trying something different to try and improve the unit.
Rams altering NFL Draft strategy?
For what feels like the first time in years, The Athletic’s Nate Atkins reported that L.A. will look at special teams players on the final day of the draft.
“Expect special teams to be a real focus on Day 3 of the draft,” Atkins wrote, “from return men to protectors to coverage players.”
The Rams already broke a bit of a precedent when they signed LB Grant Stuard, an almost exclusively special teamer, a surprising break from their usual patchwork approach when it comes to special teams.
The Rams don’t have a lot of swings on Day 3 (something I expect will change come draft day), but it has been a long time since they drafted a player specifically for special teams coverage. The majority of their special teams in recent history has come mainly through UDFAs like Troy Reeder, Jake Hummel, Shaun Dolac, Xavier Smith, Jaylen McCollough, Omar Speights, Christian Rozeboom, and Brandon Powell.
If this is true, it’s an encouraging sign that the Rams may finally be changing their approach to the worst unit on the team.
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The Rams have an obvious free agent fit left outstanding that should be their last priority of the offseason
There’s only one free agent left on the board the Rams should do whatever it takes to land.
