The LA Rams Finally Have Draft Picks! And They Seem To Be Paying Immediate Dividends
It's been a long time since it felt like the Rams had big time draft picks but 2023's draft class is off to a hot start with multiple big time Week 1 contributors.
Every football fan knows the Rams haven’t had any draft picks since 2016 when they took Jared Goff #1 Overall. Well not really, but it sure has felt like it. With Goff being their last 1st Round Pick and a very public “F them picks” mentality enroute to a Super Bowl in 2021, early May has felt more like a vacation than a job for scouts in the Rams front office. Fast forward to 2023 and this roster has been depleted of talent due to a backloading of contracts and post Super Bowl fallout. The 2023 (and 2022) draft class has been tasked to replenish that talent drain still without a first round pick. The Rams currently are starting 3 rookies with 3 more playing significant roles and all of them have been out performing their draft positions so far, with the two primary standouts being 5th Round WR Puka Nacua and 2nd Round LG Steve Avila.
Puka Nacua
Puka Nacua is a talented receiver that based on on-field tape alone would have gone higher than the 5th round if he had cleaner medicals. The rookie WR did not take long to showcase his ability, stepping in for an injured Cooper Kupp, he put up 10 REC on 14 Targets!, the most by a rookie in Week1 in 8 years, for 119 YDS. He instantly showed a strong connection with veteran QB Matthew Stafford finding soft spots in zone coverage all game long. However, Nacua was more than just a safety blanket on Sunday, when he got the ball in his hands he showed a physical running style after the catch to steal extra yardage.
Nacua also showed the ability to win versus man coverage. In the clip below he beats the Seahawks standout 2nd year CB Tariq Woolen to the inside on a slant route, the only reception Woolen allowed on the entire afternoon.
A vital part of getting and maintaining playing time in a McVay/Shanahan style offense as a WR is being involved in the run game. Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods before him, Brandon Aiyuk up in SF are all players in this style of offense that take pride in their blocking. Nacua showed flashes of the same, in the clip below he shows good technique and physicality to seal down the EDGE on a toss play.
Puka Nacua is going to get all the hype, because he plays WR and fantasy football is king but another Rams rookie had possibly an even better day and projects to have more important long term impact.
Steve Avila
The Rams had one Top 50 pick in the 2023 draft and used it on IOL Steve Avila. Avila was an extremely experienced prospect who had just come off a stellar season for the National Championship Runner up, TCU Horned Frogs. His experience and mental processing made him a candidate to start Day 1 and he showed how little of a learning curve there would be for him at the NFL level. Avila was stellar in the run and pass game all day long. He allowed 0 pressures over the course of the game on 39 pass snaps.
He showed the ability to both win 1 on 1 in pass pro…
And to pass off stunts and twists in the team game. (Featuring a sick throw from Stafford)
For a team like LA with an aging QB, and a front that struggled last year, having a rookie step in and play above average football is a massive add.
Two other rookies with significant roles on this Rams team that made impacts on Sunday are on the defensive side of the ball. 3rd Round EDGE Byron Young had 5 Pressures and 2 Run Stops on 42 Snaps and fellow 3rd Round Pick IDL Kobi Turner had 2 Pressures and 2 Run Stops on 28 snaps himself.
Kyren Williams
I know, I know Williams isn’t a rookie but due to an early season injury last year he missed over ⅔ of the season and logged under 150 snaps. Plus I want to talk about the game he had Sunday so he gets a section too!
I think many people, including myself, expected Cam Akers to carry the load for the Rams this year but it was far from the case in Week 1. While Akers did out snap and out carry Williams, a large percentage of that came in the 4th Quarter with the game out of reach. Williams was also just the better runner, he was more efficient (3.5 YPC to 1.3 YPC), better at breaking tackles (2.87 YCO/A to 1.68 YCO/A), a trait that really popped when he had to make players miss in the backfield as seen in the clip below, and did a better job creating yardage despite missed blocks (2 RYOE to -41 RYOE).
*RYOE = Rushing Yards Over Expected
That's before even getting into the passing game work. Williams coming out of Notre Dame was an excellent pass catching back and despite his smaller stature was a strong pass protector. He has multiple strong pass pro reps on Sunday similar to the one below where he is able to step up and disrupt the blitzing LB giving Stafford the time needed to attack downfield.
The Rams will likely use both RBs in a committee for the remainder of the year as Akers still brings early down value given his size/speed profile but the emergence of Williams as a dependable change of pace back that thrives on third down is a massive component in this offense already off to a hot start.