Previous versions
Post-2018 NFL Draft (April 30)
Pre-training camp (July 28)
Training camp Week 2 (August 3)
Training camp Week 3 (August 13)
QB (2)
(2017: 2 kept on initial 53-man roster)
In: Jared Goff, Sean Mannion
Out: Brandon Allen, Luis Perez
No longer on roster: N/A
Changes from last projection: N/A
Barring a trade, I’m comfortable locking this in. I’m also comfortable 100% not locking it in for 2019.
RB (3)
(2017: 3)
In: Todd Gurley, Malcolm Brown, John Kelly
Out: Justin Davis, Nick Holley
No longer on roster: N/A
Changes from last projection: N/A
Had Davis been available the last two weeks, I could have been willing to put him here. But dealing with a hamstring issue, he’s been unable to get on the field. And while Kelly might have had the best cumulative preseason performance of any Ram on the roster, Brown’s still right there in the mix for his role.
The question of course would be two-fold: workload and special teams contributions.
Behind Just Todd Gurley, there’s not going to be a ton of work available. So loading up here likely will require significant special teams contributions and not be based on running ability per se.
WR (6)
(2017: 6)
In: Brandin Cooks, Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp, Josh Reynolds, Pharoh Cooper, Mike Thomas
Out: Steven Mitchell, Fred Brown, KhaDarel Hodge, Codey McElroy, Jojo Natson, Kendal Thompson
No longer on roster: N/A
Changes from last projection: N/A
This one’s really close. Mitchell, Brown and Hodge are right there behind Thomas. The key to remember here is that Thomas isn’t practice squad-eligible. So a decision to have someone jump Thomas would end his time with the Rams.
For now, I’ve got him in there, but I could totally see any of the three doing it.
TE/FB (3)
(2017: 3)
In: Gerald Everett, Tyler Higbee, Temarrick Hemingway
Out: Johnny Mundt, Henry Krieger-Coble
No longer on roster: N/A
Changes from last projection: N/A
Has Hemingway done enough? Even if he hasn’t, have Mundt or HKC?
OL (9)
(2017: 10)
In: Andrew Whitworth, Rob Havenstein, Rodger Saffold, Jamil Demby, John Sullivan, Joseph Noteboom, Brian Allen, Austin Blythe, Jake Eldrenkamp
Out: Darrell Williams, Cornelius Lucas, Aaron Neary, Jeremiah Kolone
Suspended: Jamon Brown
No longer on roster: N/A
Changes from last projection: Eldrenkamp IN, Williams OUT
I just can’t anymore. I wish Williams all the best, but I can’t abide by his play on the roster. I’ll plug in Eldrenkamp, but the truth is the Rams will need to make investments here again next offseason after making so many this year. They were simply behind on the timeline, and one year isn’t going to catch them up.
DL (7)
(2017: 5)
In: Aaron Donald, Michael Brockers, Ndamukong Suh, Dominique Easley, Ethan Westbrooks, Sebastian Joseph-Day, John Franklin-Myers
Out: Tanzel Smart, Omarius Bryant, McKay Murphy, Chunky Clements, Lord Hyeamang
No longer on roster: N/A
Changes from last projection: N/A
Still like this group. And I think the Easley move to OLB may have just been temporary, but we’ll see. Nonetheless, I’m keeping him here for now.
OLB/EDGE (4)
(2017: 6)
In: Samson Ebukam, Matt Longacre, Justin Lawler, Ejuan Price
Out: Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, Brian Womac, Trevon Young, Ryan Davis, Marcus Martin
IR: Morgan Fox
No longer on roster: N/A
Changes from last projection: Price IN, Okoronkwo OUT
Like Davis at RB, I can’t comfortably include Oko at this point having missed out on all of training camp and all of the preseason to this point.
ILB (5)
(2017: 4)
In: Mark Barron, Micah Kiser, Ramik Wilson, Cory Littleton, Tegray Scales
Out: Bryce Hager
No longer on roster: N/A
Changes from last projection: N/A
I could see Scales completely on the outs as a linebacker but making the 53-man for his special teams contributions. He continues to be a core component there.
CB (6)
(2017: 5)
In: Marcus Peters, Aqib Talib, Nickell Robey-Coleman, Troy Hill, Sam Shields, Dominique Hatfield
Out: Taurean Nixon, Ramon Richards, Curtis Mikell
IR: Kevin Peterson
No longer on roster: N/A
Changes from last projection: N/A
Has any of the depth done enough on defense or on teams to get to the threshold for a roster decision?
S (5)
(2017: 6)
In: Lamarcus Joyner, John Johnson III, Marqui Christian, Blake Countess, Travin Howard
Out: Steven Parker, Isaiah Johnson, Afolabi Laguda, Nate Holley
No longer on roster: N/A
Changes from last projection: N/A
Nobody played more special teams snaps on Saturday than Howard. Not sure if that’s a direct indication of his teams value, but there’s obviously interest there.
ST (3)
(2017: 3)
In: Greg Zuerlein, Johnny Hekker, Jake McQuaide
Out: Sam Ficken
No longer on roster: N/A
Changes from last projection: N/A
Yup.
Practice Squad
RB Justin Davis, WR Steven Mitchell, WR KhaDarel Hodge, TE Johnny Mundt, OL Aaron Neary, DT Omarius Bryant, EDGE Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, OLB Trevon Young, CB Curtis Mikell, S Steven Parker
Now there’s a bit of insincerity here. Teams usually take a group of their own roster fringe and then add a couple outsiders to put together their initial practice squad. In the days after forming their initial squad last year, the Rams made a handful of moves to chop it up.
So don’t take this one with nearly as much confidence as the 53-man projections.
What did I get way wrong? Who didn’t make the practice squad that you like? Who are you looking at on Thursday that could change this projection fundamentally? Sound off in the comments and as always, hit us up on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram if you’re so inclined.