The Los Angeles Rams have done well to build a new foundation of stars on both sides of the field via the NFL Draft.
The Rams have had two consecutive draft classes where they unearthed team building blocks in Puka Nacua, Steve Avila Kobie Turner, Byron Young, Jared Verse and Braden Fiske. In the 2025 NFL Draft, Los Angeles wound up with only six draft picks in total after maneuvering up and down the board but still came away with a solid crop of players that could push for playing time as soon as Week 1.
Entering the draft, there was a thought around the league that the Rams could take Matthew Stafford’s successor despite the two sides resolving his contract situation earlier in the offseason. Stafford and L.A. will seemingly take their arrangement year by year, so taking a quarterback to develop behind the scenes made sense.
However, it appears the Rams were thinking differently as they apparently didn’t seriously consider drafting a quarterback, via Jeremy Fowler of ESPN:
The Rams have never drafted a first-round quarterback in the Sean McVay era. Some inside the league believe that could change in 2026, with Los Angeles armed with two first-rounders (including Atlanta’s pick) in what’s considered a deep quarterback class. Matthew Stafford seems to be on a year-to-year schedule. The Rams liked a handful of quarterbacks, including Tyler Shough and Kyle McCord , but were never a major threat to take one this year.
This year’s quarterback class wasn’t nearly as talented or deep as last year’s group, so it’s understandable that Los Angeles would be OK waiting. As Fowler noted, the Rams managed to extract a 2026 first-round pick from the Atlanta Falcons and could use their draft capital to take a quarterback prospect then.
The 2026 draft class is much more akin to the 2024 group as there should be several prospects who hear their name called on Day 1 of the 2026 NFL Draft. Head coach Sean McVay and general manager Les Snead have done well identifying players who can thrive in the Los Angeles environment and it’ll be interesting to see how they approach next year’s draft.
Matthew Stafford could earn $40 million roster bonus with Rams
Matthew Stafford was granted a trade request this past offseason to get a better understanding of what he was worth in the open market. While Stafford certainly could have made more money elsewhere, he ultimately decided to stay with the Rams and reworked his contract.
As part of the restructuring, Stafford can potentially make $40 million in roster bonuses if he’s on the roster prior to the 2026 season.
