The Los Angeles Rams’ 2024 NFL Draft class included kicker Joshua Karty, who was selected out of Stanford with the 209th overall pick in the sixth round.
The Rams made it a priority to upgrade the position after using two different kickers during the 2023 season.
Karty initially found success as he converted nine of his first 10 field goal attempts in the NFL. However, he hit a rough patch later in the year and missed four kicks over a span of five games.
Karty madę a small change to his mechanics after the Rams’ loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 12 and believes it helped him turn around his season, via Wyatt Miller of TheRams.com:
Karty said the change was “barely noticeable at all,” but “just like clockwork, it immediately paid off.”
“Sometimes the smallest technical changes can make the biggest differences,” Karty told TheRams.com. “… I’m a big rhythm and tempo guy, and so just staying on the right queue to start and the right timing for the snap and the kick just turned out to work well.”
Karty explained that he tries to simplify his approach so that he can make easy adjustments if necessary:
“I want to absolutely take away maybe just one or two more variables, try and simplify my approach and my routine,” Karty told TheRams.com, “just have it so that if something does come up, then I can fall back on something super easily.”
The midseason change proved to be beneficial as Karty made all 17 of his field goal attempts for the remainder of the year, including four in the playoffs.
Karty was recognized as the NFC Special Teams Player of the Month for December/January and finished the year with an 85.3 field goal percentage.
After a successful rookie season, Karty has given the Rams some stability at kicker and he will look to build on his success in 2025.
Puka Nacua ‘excited’ to take on Rams leadership role from Cooper Kupp
The Rams are expected to part ways with Cooper Kupp this offseason after an impressive career that spanned eight years.
The star wide receiver announced that the team will attempt to trade him in the coming weeks. Kupp made it clear that he wanted to finish his career with the Rams, but the franchise has seemingly decided to go in a different direction.
Puka Nacua praised Kupp for the leadership he provided and hopes to follow in his footsteps during the 2025 season.
Nacua is close with the former receiving triple crown winner and said that he wouldn’t be the player he has become without Kupp.
