In 2023, the Los Angeles Rams were one of the most surprising teams in the NFL, pushing for a playoff spot in the NFC West in what was expected to be a down year and finding an all-time great Day 3 steal in Puka Nacua out of BYU, a wide receiver that came into camp with few expectations but rapidly turned himself into one of the true bright young stars of the league.
Did the Rams find the next Nacua in the 2024 NFL Draft? Only time will tell, as few fans thought Puka Nacua would be Puka Nacua this time last year, but that doesn't mean there aren't some very interesting additions to the team who were added to the roster back in April who could immediately push for playing time, including the highest-profile draftee the team has selected in years and a copycat rusher who might just be better than the player he was drafted to complement.
These rookies could be players for the Los Angeles Rams in 2024.
2. Jared Verse could push Michael Hoecht
As a rookie, Michael Hoecht was a pretty standard developmental defensive lineman, a 6-foot-4, 310-pound UDFA who rotated in behind the team's more established veterans. Considering his size and player profile, this made sense, but as his role grew with each passing season, something peculiar started to happen, and instead of becoming a more consistent force at defensive tackle or even defensive end, the Rams decided to play him at outside linebacker, forcing a very large, 300-plus pound man to cover in space in zone and occasionally even man coverage against tight ends and even wide receivers.
Did it work? Sometimes, but frankly, the decision never really felt like it was viable long-term, and as a result, the Rams made it a point to add talent at the position opposite Byron Young and did so in a major way by drafting Jared Verse out of Florida State with the 19th overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft, securing one of the most dynamic athletes in the class without having to trade up.
Standing just a shade under 6-foot-4, 254 pounds with a blazing 4.58 40-yard dash and an explosive 127-inch broad jump, Verse is an explosive athlete with a big personality and an even bigger drive to get whoever has the ball to the ground as violently as possible. He instantly slots in as a starting outside linebacker for the Rams right out of the gate – unless, of course, they want to play him at defensive end, where he would immediately start, too – and might just become the top priority on opposing teams' scouting report for LA, taking the place of long-time public enemy number one Aaron Donald, which, considering the talent on the roster, is an incredibly impressive feat for a rookie.
Jared Verse was literally running into the Rams Draft House to make it in before LA drafted his FSU teammate Braden Fiske.
Verse said they were just hitting their stride together as teammates, and talked about the “what if” they went to the same team. Now a reality pic.twitter.com/dykVchgvMW— Ava Brand (@avabssports) April 27, 2024
Jared Verse was literally running into the Rams Draft House to make it in before LA drafted his FSU teammate Braden Fiske. Verse said they were just hitting their stride together as teammates, and talked about the “what if” they went to the same team. Now a reality
1. Blake Corum could push Kyren Williams
One of the major talking points about the Rams' 2024 draft class was how Blake Corum was explicitly drafted because of how similar his game is to incumbent starter Kyren Williams, who had a breakout season for Los Angeles last year as a second-year back out of Notre Dame.
Now, on paper, that comparison is just, as the duo have similar sizes, play the game with a similar style, and thus could be interhangeable offensively, allowing Sean McVay to run the same plays the same way when one subs in for the other, which is rarely the case for when backups enter a game.
And yet, there is a question that isn't being asked nearly as much but is worth investigating: what if Corum is actually better than Williams?
I mean, think about it: Corum was a more productive college pro than Williams even after fighting through injuries in 2023, and was relied on to be a focal point of the best offense in the NCAA last year due to his impressive efforts on the ground and as an occasional receiver out of the backfield. Could Corum, now a full season removed from knee surgery, return to 2022 form and prove why he was a Heisman candidate at Michigan? Well, if the Rams didn't think that was a possibility, they likely wouldn't have drafted him in the third round; 81 picks higher than Williams came off the board in 2022.
In Week 1, Williams will almost certainly start assuming health, but who knows, this may be a lightning-lightning situation where neither performer gets the full workload, and Corum may even pull ahead by the end of the season if he outperforms the Notre Dame product.
💻 Les Snead
Did we only have the @RamsNFL general manager on the show today because he drafted @UMichFootball running back @blake_corum in the 3rd round?#NFL #NFLDraft #RamsHouse pic.twitter.com/iGt6WZT6oC— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) May 2, 2024
