6 Winners & Losers from the Los Angeles Rams’ 2026 NFL Draft include multiple starters who avoided competition
The Los Angeles Rams only added five players in the 2026 NFL Draft, mostly leaving their roster completely intact. Whose stock was most affected?
The Los Angeles Rams finished the 2026 NFL Draft with five picks, three of which were in the top-100 picks and they did not take a player in the fourth or fifth rounds. Naturally, that kind of roster movement (or lack thereof) leaves plenty of winners and losers across the team.
Who came away feeling great from this weekend? Who lost out? Let’s dive in.
Winner: Omar Speights
Despite meeting with multiple linebackers pre-draft, the Rams once again elected to pass on a linebacker for another slap-stick bargain bin approach here. Omar Speight’s only competition for the LB2 job is Shaun Dolac coming off of a PCL tear in Week 18 and special teamer Grant Stuard.
Given that they have passed on linebacker now for multiple years in a row, Speights won’t have any competition to once again occupy a major role defensively.
Loser: Stetson Bennett
No matter how much Stetson Bennett has improved with the Rams, none of it matters anymore with the selection of Ty Simpson. Bennett went from the potential QB2 on the team to being the afterthought in the room.
Sean McVay said Simpson would “compete” with Bennett for the QB2 job, but the sheer draft capital invested into Simpson is going to give him the job by default. Hopefully, he puts in a strong performance in the preseason to attract other teams.
Winner: Emmanuel Forbes
The Los Angeles Rams added Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson and decided that was enough at cornerback. Forbes keeps his job on the roster solely by being the only other corner with experience. If either McDuffie or Watson get hurt, Forbes is a starter again.
We’ll see if the Rams can get away with that for another season. I, for one, am skeptical.
Loser: Ty Hamilton
This one could be a stretch, but the selection of Tim Keenan could be pushing Ty Hamilton at the bottom of the defensive line rotation. Hamilton struggled as a rookie. I don’t think he was a great fit for what the Rams’ scheme calls for either, but I’m not opposed to them adding competition either.
Hamilton had significantly greater draft capital invested into him in last year’s draft. However, the Rams have never been against lighting draft picks on fire if they feel it’s necessary.
Winners: Jordan Whittington, Konata Mumpfield, Xavier Smith
Even after being linked to wide receivers all offseason long, the Rams did not invest serious capital into one. That leaves Jordan Whittington’s spot as the slot receiver without any competition. Given his ability as a blocker and special teamer, he’s a lock for the roster.
Mumpfield’s job as the backup X for Davante Adams won’t be threatened by CJ Daniels. Barring a surprise, his spot should be safe as well.
Despite saying they would invest in improving the special teams, the Rams did not add competition at kick returner. Xavier Smith’s job as the primary returner is unopposed as it stands right now.
Winner: Jarquez Hunter
In a draft full of insane surprises, the biggest one was that the Rams did not draft a running back, breaking a nine-year streak of doing so. This was partly surprising, as none of Jarquez Hunter, Ronnie Rivers, or Jordan Waters have done enough to really earn the RB3 job.
However, no added competition is a great sign for Jarquez Hunter’s roster security moving forward.
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