Rams — 2026 Draft Recap

The Rams spent a top-15 pick on a quarterback who might not see the field for three years. That's the bet that defines this entire class. Five picks. One quarterback succession plan. And a roster so deep the GM said they didn't have a glaring need to fill.

Start with Ty Simpson at thirteen, because everything else orbits him. The Alabama quarterback put up 3,567 passing yards and 28 touchdowns against just 5 picks — both totals ranked second in the SEC and inside the top 20 nationally. His predicted points added, the college equivalent of NFL expected points added, landed at plus 177.97 on the season, or plus 0.32 per play. Clean, efficient, pro-style. The Rams' 2025 passing offense wasn't broken — plus 141 in total passing expected points added with 46 touchdowns — but with a wave of veteran free agents up after this season, McKay was explicit that succession planning shaped the board. He said the pick wasn't really debated internally: when the whole building believes a quarterback fits McVay's system, you don't worry about when he plays. The tape that sold him was Auburn — Simpson threw for only around 130 yards, but in a messy, pressure-heavy game he made the clutch throws to win it. That's the trait the Rams are buying: a smart processor who hits the second and third read.

Max Klare at sixty-one is where the math gets fun. The Ohio State tight end caught 43 balls for 448 yards, and his predicted points added per play landed at plus 0.44 — strong per-snap efficiency for the position, on a total of plus 23.55. McKay noted the Rams' shift into more multiple-tight-end personnel last season happened organically, and Klare fits that evolution: his Purdue-to-Ohio-State arc gave the staff multi-year tape of how he activates in the pass game from different looks. With the 2025 passing offense already averaging plus 0.23 expected points added per play, Klare is additive on a unit that smashed last year — not a patch on a leak.

The offensive line story is even quieter, and that's the point. The 2025 unit allowed just 23 sacks across 624 dropbacks — elite pass protection. So Keagen Trost, the Missouri lineman taken in round three at 93, isn't being asked to rescue anything. He's depth and competition for a strength, which fits McKay's stated philosophy: take starter upside two or three years out, don't reach for need.

The day-three swing had real intent behind it. In the sixth round at 197, the Rams traded up roughly ten spots for CJ Daniels out of Miami. His Relative Athletic Score — a 0-to-10 grade comparing combine and pro-day testing against every player at the position since 1987 — came in at 6.30, solidly average. The case isn't testing. It's the route-running and hands profile McKay described, and a conviction in the building that traced back to early-fall scouting. McKay called him one of the last players on the board they felt could contribute right away and stick long-term.

The class closes with Tim Keenan III at 232, an Alabama defensive tackle with 16 tackles, 3 for loss, and 2 sacks. His Relative Athletic Score: 2.74. Bottom-tier testing for the position — a muffed-the-measurables profile on paper. He's a developmental flier whose case is the Alabama coaching and the interior body type, not the athletic comp.

Pick of the draft? You can argue Klare on per-snap efficiency. You can argue the Daniels trade-up. It has to be Simpson, and it isn't close. Klare is a complement to an offense that already finished plus 141 in total passing expected points added. Trost joins a line that allowed 23 sacks. The Rams used this draft to insure positions of strength — except at quarterback, where they made the one investment that swings the next half-decade. McKay framed it cleanly: in McVay's offense you can't plug and play the position, so when the building agrees on a fit, you take him whenever the board lets you. Thirteen was where the board let them.

Looking ahead to 2026, the question isn't whether Simpson plays — it's whether the defense holds its 2025 form. The pass defense allowed minus 47 expected points added with 47 sacks and 26 takeaways, and this draft barely touched it — just Keenan in the seventh as a developmental interior piece. If that defense holds, the Rams nailed succession planning while contending. If it slips, the conversation gets loud fast.