State of the roster: Rams rookies vying for roles as training camp starts

In 2023, you won’t be seeing the Rams you are familiar with.

Los Angeles underwent a major overhaul — or, “remodel”, as the front office has been keen to call it — this off-season. But unlike in past years, when the Rams added Pro Bowl talent meant to put the team over the top in its Super Bowl pursuits, the flow of veterans went the opposite direction. Leaders on and off the field were traded by L.A. for draft picks.

So as the Rams prepare to open training camp on Wednesday at UC Irvine, head coach Sean McVay and his similarly-remodeled coaching staff will be charged with 36 rookies. So to help you keep up with all the new names and faces, here’s a look at the current state of the Rams’ roster:

QUARTERBACK

Notables: Matthew Stafford, Brett Rypien, Stetson Bennett IV

Key additions: A two-time national champion at Georgia, the Rams hope Bennett can grow into Stafford’s full-time backup. But L.A. also added the veteran Rypien in case the fourth-round pick needs time to adjust to the NFL.

Key losses: Long-time backup John Wolford left in free agency for Tampa Bay, where he’ll be reunited with Baker Mayfield after Mayfield’s cup of coffee as Rams’ starter following Stafford’s season-ending spinal cord contusion.

RUNNING BACK

Notables: Cam Akers, Sony Michel, Kyren Williams, Zach Evans

Key additions: The Rams traded up in the sixth round to add Evans, who has intriguing physical gifts but needs some polish. After training camp, L.A. added the veteran Michel to balance the youth of the RB room with Williams entering his second season.

Key losses: Veteran Darrell Henderson was cut mid-season last year after getting a lot of opportunities early in the year when Akers and the coaching staff were at odds over his role.

RECEIVER/TIGHT END

Notables: Cooper Kupp, Van Jefferson, Tutu Atwell, Tyler Higbee, Ben Skowronek, Puka Nacua, Demarcus Robinson, Davis Allen, Lance McCutcheon

Key additions: Nacua, a fifth-round pick out of BYU, was one of the standouts of the Rams’ off-season program, impressing both McVay and Kupp with his grasp of the playbook so early in his career. Allen was selected out of Clemson in the fifth round to provide some depth behind Higbee at tight end.

Key losses: The Rams traded receiver Allen Robinson to the Steelers for a seventh-round pick in a cost-cutting move. The move leaves L.A. without a clear third receiver behind Kupp and Jefferson. Atwell and Skowronek will be the frontrunners for the job, but Nacua, the veteran Robinson and McCutcheon — last year’s preseason darling — could emerge, too.

OFFENSIVE LINE

Notables: Joe Noteboom, Rob Havenstein, Brian Allen, Steve Avila, Coleman Shelton, Alaric Jackson, Coleman Shelton, Tremayne Anchrum

Key additions: Avila was the Rams’ first draft pick in 2023, added out of TCU in the second round with the hope that he could be an immediate contributor for a unit that was decimated by injuries in 2022. He provides some versatility; though he played right guard largely in college, he can also move inside to center or out to tackle.

Key losses: None of note, with the key figures returning from last year’s team with hopefully a cleaner bill of health.

DEFENSIVE LINE

Notables: Aaron Donald, Marquise Copeland, Kobie Turner, Jonah Williams, Michael Hoecht, Bobby Brown

Key additions: Turner was a third-round pick out of Wake Forest. A former walk-on, he is known for his motor despite being considered undersized at 6-foot-2 and 288 pounds. He had 10 tackles for loss and three forced fumbles as a senior.

Key losses: A’Shawn Robinson and Greg Gaines both left as free agents, to the Giants and Buccaneers, respectively. Their departures left the Rams without many veteran presences beyond Donald on the defensive line.

LINEBACKER

Notables: Ernest Jones, Byron Young, Nick Hampton, Christian Rozeboom, Jake Hummel, Keir Thomas

Key additions: The Rams have seven rookies at linebacker, so there are a lot of new and inexperienced faces in that room. Third-round pick Byron Young leads the group of first-year players. A former assistant manager at a Dollar General out of high school, Young worked his way up the college ranks until he made a name for himself with speed and athleticism as a pass rusher at Tennessee with seven sacks and 12 tackles for loss as a senior.

Key losses: This position group took arguably the biggest hits of the off-season. Team captain Bobby Wagner was granted permission to find a new team before eventually being released and returning to division rival Seattle. Then the Rams released Leonard Floyd, who started all 17 games in 2023, and he signed with the Bills. Their departures leave the Rams with 199 tackles and 15 sacks worth of production to replace.

DEFENSIVE BACK

Notables: Jordan Fuller, Cobie Durant, Derion Kendrick, Quentin Lake, Ahkello Witherspoon, Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson, Jason Taylor II, Vincent Gray

Key additions: The Rams have nine rookies in the secondary, including four out of five safeties currently on the roster, leaving third-year UCLA product Quentin Lake as the lone safety with experience. Hodges-Tomlinson was undersized out of TCU at 5-foot-9 but was a first-team All-American and the winner of the Jim Thorpe Award, given annually to college football’s top defensive back, in 2022.

Key losses: This unit was decimated during the off-season. All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey was traded to the Dolphins for a third-round pick and tight end Hunter Long. Safety Taylor Rapp left as a free agent for the Bills. Safety Nick Scott turned his career year into a three-year deal with the Bengals. And the Rams voided cornerback Troy Hill’s contract after he started 12 games last year. Those four defensive backs accounted for nine of the Rams’ 16 interceptions in 2022.

SPECIALISTS

Notables: P Ethan Evans, LS Alex Ward, PK Tanner Brown

Key additions: All three of the above mentioned specialists are rookies as the Rams completely revamped their special teams this off-season. Evans was a seventh-round draft pick and worked as a holder for the first time during minicamp. Ward was a highly-regarded long snapper in college, while Brown made 22 of 23 field goals last season at Oklahoma State, including a 52-yarder.

Key losses: Kicker Matt Gay is off to Indianapolis, punter Riley Dixon to Denver and long snapper Matt Orzech to Green Bay.