Random Ramsdom: Jalen Ramsey watch

Los Angeles Rams News and Links for 4/29/25

To acquire Jalen Ramsey or to not acquire Jalen Ramsey, that is a potential question that the Los Angeles Rams are working through as a type. Who knows, maybe there is breaking news in the night and he’s signed by the time you are reading this, but I don’t expect that.

It seems like the Miami Dolphins are figuring out what they want to do, and perhaps so is Ramsey. It’s a situation to monitor and once there is a result we’ll go from there.

Thank you for checking out Turf Show Times, thank you for the comments and have a great Tuesday!

Sean McVay Provides Update on Rams’ Pursuit of Jalen Ramsey (si.com)

“I think we’re still getting through that process. A part of getting through the draft is also when it actually officially ends, and then going through the undrafted free agent process. Like we talked about, there are still a lot of layers, contracts, compensation, and different things like that.

“There is a tremendous amount of appreciation that we have for Jalen, the time that we spent…There’s a lot of familiarity, but we’re probably in the same position when we talked about it the other day, just because there are some things that we still need to take care of to be able to truly get through the draft from the totality of it all”.

NFL Draft: Rams have smallest rookie pool set aside for salary cap in 2025 (ramswire)

“TE Terrance Ferguson (No. 46): $1.766 million

OLB Josaiah Stewart (No. 90): $1.140 million

RB Jarquez Hunter (No. 117): $1.089 million

DT Ty Hamilton (No. 148): $949,645

(No. 172) LB Chris Paul Jr.: $920,054

WR Konata Mumpfield (No. 242): $867,135

This all means the Rams should have a little less than $11 million in salary cap space once their rookie class is signed. That’s a nice chunk of change to make some moves for veterans ahead of the 2025 season, if the Rams want to go down that route.”

Rams agree to terms with 17 undrafted free agents (therams.com)

“Those players are:

Utah State OL Wyatt Bowles

Connecticut S Malik Dixon-Williams

Buffalo ILB Shaun Dolac

Boise State OL Ben Dooley

Louisiana Tech WR Tru Edwards

North Carolina OL Willie Lampkin

USC OLB Jamil Muhammad

University of Texas DL Bill Norton

Rice OLB Josh Pearcy

Oklahoma State WR Brennan Presley

Louisville TE Mark Redman

Oklahoma DL Da’Jon Terry

Toledo TE Anthony Torres

Northern Illinois S Nate Valcarcel

NC State RB Jordan Waters

Indiana OL Trey Wedig

Tulane WR Mario Williams”

Random Ramsdom Fandom: How Would You Define the Rams’ Draft Philosophy/Strategy? (By RamsRoll on Apr 28, 2025)

“In this FanPost, besides trying to define the Rams’ draft philosophy/strategy, at the same time I wish to give respect to TST member Samthelost. When I read a comment he made on TST recently, I was really impressed with what he had to say about how the Rams evaluate players they are considering to be drafted as Rams. This is his comment:

“The Rams value character above everything else. They have a particular “character set” that matches what they view as a Ram and if the player falls outside of that then they are basically undraftable, no matter the talent.

They want:

– Drive to improve: Tape junkies, players who have shown determination in life, coaching absorbent guys, player who go out of their way to do the extra work to improve.

– Respectful players: Being chippy on the field is fine, but in the facility being respectful of each other is paramount. Especially when it comes to other people’s time and energy.

– Examples to others: They want players who don’t just improve themselves but also encourage and support others to get better. They want player coaches, who are not afraid to work with younger players and teach them what they have learnt.

I’m sure that there is more but this is what has come to mind immediately. I wouldn’t be surprised if they have built these character sets from players that they have had around the team. Aaron Donald, Cooper Kupp, Tyler Higbee, Robert Woods, even Jalen Ramsey all fill all of the key areas that they want from players.

It also feels like they were somewhat burnt in the past by players when they went more for talent than they did character. Guys like Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters were talented acquisitions but did not fit the character values (not to say they are bad guys, just not great fits) and neither of those trades really worked out as well as they could have done.

But what does that mean for the Rams’ fans at draft time? Well, it means that it is tough. You have to be trying to perform not just talent evaluations but also the intangibles, but with zero access. Some aspects are easier than others. You can see the players who are improving and growing year on year at the college level, taking the steps to improve themselves. You can see the guys on the field that are high motor, effort every play, pushing for everything. But you can’t see interviews that show what is going on upstairs for these guys, you might be able to find out if they are working with coaches/ex players in the off-season. But I don’t know how you do that. Your best bet is likely trying to look at how the player is thought of within their college building; are they a team captain? are they seen as a leader in their position group? does their name get raised by the coach more than others?

Still, that stuff is tough. Which is why Rams draft predictions are so tough. But also fun, because we get a low drama team with players that we love.”

To supplement and add to what Sam said, I would also say that AD had considerable impact on the development of the Rams’ draft philosophy. AD’s influence was not only by virtue of his attitude, leadership and work ethic, but also by what advice he gave Sean & Les about the type of players the Rams should draft. He said something to effect of “ just be sure they care.”

The Rams wish to draft players that are “lunch pale” players. Players who want to work hard and strive to improve. Players who care. They want players who are “we, not me” players. I believe the Rams consider the factors mentioned in this FanPost to be more important than talent. Do you think this is the correct draft philosophy/strategy or would you do it differently?

This year it was clear that the Rams had identified and targeted certain players as coming within their definition of Rams players. They went after those players aggressively regardless of what the so called “experts” said.

The Rams did really well in the 2023 & 2024 drafts. Will this year’s draft be a good one too? Well ya know what they say. We shall see. GO RAMS”