The negotiating period has opened, and the new league year will arrive in two days. With that in mind, we're revisiting mock drafts pre-free agency.
Here's what experts are currently forecasting for the Rams. Projections are for the Rams' first-round pick (19th overall) unless noted otherwise.
Date: March 7
Expert: Ian Valentino
The pick(s): Alabama CB Kool-Aid McKinstry (pictured above)
Notes:A First-Team All-America selection by the Associated Press, The Sporting News, CBS Sports, Pro Football Focus, Sports Illustrated and USA Today, the 5-foot-11 1/2, 199-pound McKinstry registered seven pass breakups and 32 total tackles for the Crimson Tide last season. He also contributed as a returner on special teams, with 14 punts returned for 86 yards, including a long of 33.
"Adding a sticky man cover corner in Kool-Aid McKinstry will help fill the void that Jalen Ramsey left when he was traded last offseason," Vanlentino wrote as part of his analysis.
Date: March 6
Expert: Charles Davis, NFL Media Analyst
The pick(s): UCLA EDGE Laiatu Latu
Notes: Latu continues to be a popular projection for the Rams at 19th overall.
"Latu possesses a full pass-rush arsenal," Davis writes. "He joins last year's rookie sensations Byron Young and Kobie Turner in chasing QBs on a Rams team that is full of promise."
Last year's Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, the 6-5, 259 Latu led the FBS with 1.8 tackles per game en route to winning the Lombardi Award and Ted Hendricks Award (nation's top collegiate defensive end). He is also ranked No. 18 in NFL Media Analyst Daniel Jeremiah's latest Top 50 draft prospects.
Date: March 5
Expert: Jordan Reid, NFL Draft Analyst
The pick(s): Clemson CB Nate Wiggins
Notes: Wiggins has also been a frequent first-round projection for the Rams, and Reid, in part of his analysis, writes that Wiggins "can be an immediate starter" on Los Angeles' defense.
The 6-1, 173 pound cornerback had 29 total tackles, eight passes defensed and two interceptions (one returned 98 yards for a touchdown) in 10 games for the Tigers in 2023.
Date: March 6
Expert: Chris Trapasso, NFL Draft Analyst
The pick(s): Washington iOL Troy Fautanu
Notes: While Fautanu was primarily an offensive tackle in college, Trapasso has him sliding inside to play on the interior here for the Rams.
Fautanu (6-4, 317) started all 15 games at left tackle for the national runner-up Huskies last season and won the 2023 Morris Trophy, awarded to the top offensive lineman in the Pac-12 as voted by the conference's defensive linemen.
