5 questions I have for the Rams ahead of the 2025 draft

When do the Rams plan to take a quarterback, and more

After months of anticipation, the 2025 NFL Draft is only a week away. You’ve read countless mock drafts and wondered what decisions the Los Angeles Rams will make. Soon we will have answers and real picks to analyze.

These are the five questions I have for the Rams and what they are planning ahead of next week’s draft:

1 – When do the Rams prepare for life after Matthew Stafford?

Matthew Stafford won’t be around forever. Even at times this offseason it was tough to see how the team would put the toothpaste back in the tube after allowing the veteran to meet with the New York Giants and Las Vegas Raiders. Sean McVay recently commented that the quarterback could retire as soon as next season.

So will the Rams use an early pick to get a young player in their building and groom them to take over as soon as 2026? Such a move would come with tradeoffs for a team that made a strong playoff run a year ago.

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Or will LA simply kick the can down the road knowing that in a year they could bring back Jimmy Garoppolo or another veteran as a starter and figure things out until they are able to secure a more permanent solution.

This is one of the biggest questions looming over the franchise and their future success. There are no hopes of contention without a franchise QB under center, and that could result in wasted seasons in the career primes of Puka Nacua, Jared Verse, Braden Fiske, and others.

2 – Are the Rams content at corner?

Corner is one of the few positions on the roster that could be immediately upgraded through the draft, and generally speaking most playoff teams only have a few holes on their depth charts. None of Darious Williams, Cobie Durant, Ahekllo Witherspoon, nor Derion Kendrick are guaranteed starting jobs or a spot on the roster in 2026.

In short, the Rams need to at least prepare for what seems to be sizeable turnover at corner next offseason. An early pick could also find a path to playing time sooner than later.

Does LA feel that they have plenty of options—sort of a quantity over quality approach—and that corner isn’t a pressing need in this draft?

3 – How much does Rob Havenstein have left in the tank?

Havenstein is 32 and will be 33 in time for the 2025 season. That’s not exactly old for a premier tackle in the NFL, though injuries seem to occur more frequently for him at this stage of his career. For reference, Trent Williams of the San Francisco 49ers is 36, Lane Johnson of the Philadelphia Eagles is 34.

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The complicated aspect of this question is that Havenstein is slated to be a free agent in 2026. If the Rams want to bring him back, it would require a new contract across that starts at age 34. The veteran might have a couple quality years left, but it may be smarter to let another team make that bet.

Would Los Angeles draft a tackle early in this class and plan to move on from Havenstein after this season? I could see it going either way.

4 – Is this the year the Rams call an audible at linebacker?

We know LA hasn’t historically valued the linebacker position. In the Sean McVay era, the highest draft pick spent has been a third rounder on Ernest Jones. Jones was probably also the best in this era to start at off-ball linebacker, though the team traded him to the Tennessee Titans—who traded him to the Seattle Seahawks—instead of signing Jones to a long-term contract extension.

Aside from a one-year stint from Bobby Wagner, the Rams have mostly plugged former undrafted free agents and bottom-tier starters at this position.

Fans continue to call for the team to finally invest in linebacker in a real way. Is this finally the year they reverse course and draft a player that can start for seasons to come?

5 – Can Les Snead keep his hot streak alive?

There’s no denying that Les Snead has been on a heater during the last two drafts, and those two classes have helped the Rams complete an in-flight rebuild that defied even the most optimistic expectations.

Puka Nacua, Jared Verse, Steve Avila, Kobie Turner, Braden Fiske, Byron Young, Kamren Kinchens, Josh Karty, and Ethan Evans were all found over the last couple of drafts.

Photo by Ric Tapia/Getty Images

But the draft can be a fickle animal. Teams may enjoy success for a couple of years before their luck runs out. LA has also lost significant front office talent over the last few years in Brad Holmes (GM of Detroit Lions) and James Gladstone (GM of Jacksonville Jaguars).

The Rams have put together two impressive draft classes with a renewed focus on their core tenants and core values. Can they make it a third strong draft in a row using the same guiding line, or will they veer off course?