HERMOSA BEACH, Calif. – Joshua Karty knew the Rams had a need at kicker, and his conversations with the team during the pre-draft process gave him a good feeling about them being a potential landing spot.
So when the former Stanford was selected in the sixth round by Los Angeles, he wasn't too surprised, though that didn't make the uncertainty on draft day any more bearable.
"This was a little bit of a roller coaster," Karty said. "There's a lot of a lot of quality in the kicker classes here with with me and Will (Reichard) and Cam (Little), and we just knew as soon as one of us was going, then the other teams will start to bite. I was hoping if another kicker went first, it wasn't going to be the Rams and boy, I'm glad the Rams had the next pick. I'm super excited. I wanted to be here all along and get to stay California and get to be around."
During the pre-draft process, the Rams expressed their interest in Karty consistently.
Karty said special teams coordinator Chase Blackburn and assistant special teams coach Chili Davis came to his pro day, got breakfast with him and also conducted a workout with him, and those interactions stood out.
"Just hit it off with them, definitely," Karty said. "I knew wanted to go there, and was hoping (head coach Sean) McVay and the GM (Les Snead) felt the same way about me."
Karty's excitement was likely also compounded by getting to be teammates with Rams punter Ethan Evans, whom he's known for 5-6 year now.
"We're both from the same neck of the woods in North Carolina, and we used to both train together up in Charlotte all the time," Karty said. "So I'm really excited to be able to get to train with him, and I'd venture to say maybe not 100 percent because of myself, our specs room will have the strongest specs room in the NFL for sure with how much he's squatting."
Knowing he was wanted by a West Coast team makes it even better.
"I wanted to stay on the West, I like LA," Karty said. "Specifically, the stadium is amazing. Great conference for kicking. I think the best thing is the Rams are always good every year, and there's a lot of young talent on the team and they're only getting better. I just can't wait to be a part of that and win championships."
