5 Rams who are in danger of losing their role after draft

Kam Curl, Stetson Bennett, Ahkello Witherspoon, and other Rams who might not have a role depending on draft results

We are days away from the Los Angeles Rams’ plan for the 2025 NFL Draft unfolding. We’ve spent the last months speculating and pondering nearly every possibility, and it’s almost time to analyze results.

There are a handful of current Rams that are in danger of losing their role to soon-to-be-rookies. Let’s think of this as a pre-emptive “Winners & Losers” and take a moment to ponder who has the most to lose as we head into the draft:

Stetson Bennett, QB

There’s really no telling when the Rams plan to prepare for life after Matthew Stafford. Truth be told—for reasons outside of the team’s control—this might not be the year to invest in the quarterback of the future. Still, if Sean McVay and Les Snead fall in love with a project and see a player that could be the heir apparent to Stafford, they could realistically pull the trigger as soon as Thursday night.

Nearly any selection at quarterback is likely to push Stetson Bennett off the regular season roster, though there could be an entertaining battle over training camp and the preseason. Could Bennett beat out a sixth or seventh round pick? Sure, that’s possible. But if the Rams spend any sort of premium capital on the position the writing is probably on the wall for the third-year QB.

Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images

Kam Curl, DB

I’m personally not the biggest fan of Curl as a player and view him as a replacement-level starter. To his credit, he has a wealth of starting experience and is competent. You could easily do better or worse, but at least you know what you are getting by plugging him into the lineup. Curl hasn’t notched an interception since his rookie season in 2020 and he’s far from an impact player.

With that said, drafting a safety in the first four rounds could put Curl’s starting role in jeopardy. Kamren Kinchens has already demonstrated that he’s a top 10 safety after you account for the fact most teams are putting two on the field. Quentin Lake also has versatility to play in the slot. Curl could easily become the odd man out.

It’s worth nothing that Curl is a free agent after the 2025 season after signing a two-year, $9M total deal last offseason.

Ahkello Witherspoon, CB

It was smart for the Rams to bring back Ahkello Witherspoon after starting the majority of the last two seasons in LA. However, I view the signing as an attempt to lock in a floor versus writing his name atop the depth chart in ink.

Los Angeles will probably be in the market for a cornerback early should the draft board fall in their favor. Witherspoon, Derion Kendrick, and Cobie Durant are all free agents in 2026. Darious Williams’ roster spot is far from a certainty next year as well. The Rams need to rebuild the corner room from the ground up, and we could see them take the first steps towards doing so early in this week’s draft.

Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Tutu Atwell, WR

It raises eyebrows across the NFL when LA re-signed Atwell to a one-year, $10M deal in free agency to secure his return to the team. Sean McVay admitted that he hasn’t used Atwell at the frequency needed to set him up for success.

I think when you look at his body of work, when he’s been able to play, especially in some of the times that he was playing when Cooper (Kupp) was on IR, there was a lot of production. If you project that over the course of 17 games, you just watch what he was able to do. He’s matured as a young man. I love the person, getting to know him, and I think that he’s only getting better…

I think the fans are accurate in that I haven’t done a good enough job of utilizing him.

Actions speak louder than words, and it remains to be seen whether the Rams actually plan to give Atwell a significant workload or if they are still activity shopping for a better option at WR#3.

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Nick Hampton, EDGE

One of the most underrated departures this offseason was Michael Hoecht. The former UDFA signed with the Buffalo Bills in free agency after logging a ton of snaps for the Rams over the last three years. Hoecht leaves a significant and starting-adjacent role available on defense.

Is Nick Hampton—a 2023 fifth-round pick—ready to become the next man up and make an impact as a situational pass rusher? It wouldn’t be shocking for LA to use an early pick at EDGE given that it’s one of the most important positions in football and the fact that there will be a number of young defenders in line for extensions in the coming years. An early investment could alleviate the need to extend someone like Byron Young and push Hampton a rung lower down on the depth chart.

Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images