VAN NUYS, Calif. – The Rams added to both sides of the ball Friday night, bringing in Oregon tight end Terrance Ferguson with their second-round pick and Michigan outside linebacker Josaiah Stewart with their third-round pick on Day 2 of the 2025 NFL Draft.

Rams head coach Sean McVay and general manager Les Snead met with local media afterward to discuss their evaluations of each player, their early visions for each and other topics.

More on those key takeaways below.

Ferguson reminded McVay of Chris Cooley and Travis Kelce

When discussing what he liked about Ferguson, McVay was brought back to one of the first players he coached in Chris Cooley, whom he worked with in Washington, and his first year coaching tight ends when he evaluated Travis Kelce when Kelce was coming out of the University of Cincinnati.

"He reminds me a lot of Chris Cooley," McVay said. "He's got some similar body mannerisms to Travis Kelce."

McVay is "certainly not saying that (Ferguson is) those guys yet," but "there's a lot of instincts."

McVay praised Ferguson for having "great feel, great savvy."

"He plays with a change of pace when the ball gets in his hands," McVay said. "I think he can play in the C (gap) area. He's moved around the formation. When things go off schedule, he shows what a great feel he has to find soft spots. I thought he and (former Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel) had a great rapport."

Stewart benefitted from playing under a current NFL defensive coordinator and a former one, but overall body of work was biggest driver

One thing that McVay said aided the evaluation of Stewart was the fact that he played under a current NFL defensive coordinator (the Chargers' Jesse Minter, who held the same position at Michigan in 2023) and a former one in Don 'Wink' Martindale.

"Obviously Wink is really close with Drew Wilkins, who we just hired as our pass rush coordinator, so there's some intimate knowledge," McVay said, alluding to their time spent together on the Ravens' coaching staff from 2012-2021. "There's also an acknowledgement and an understanding of a lot of the similar concepts that we would activate. And that what (Rams defensive coordinator) Chris (Shula) has really done an excellent job of being flexible and fluid. And so that certainly helped."

Still, it was "ultimately" about Stewart's body of work and who he is as a person, McVay said.

Stewart continues trend of prospects who successfully produced when they reached a higher level of competition in college

The recipe of going for players who elevated their level of competition by transferring up has served the Rams well – think the selections of Kobie Turner and Byron Young in 2023, Jared Verse and Braden Fiske in 2024.

If ain't broke, don't fix it, right?

"It worked the last few times we've done it," Snead said with a smile. "Maybe our entire deal is that."

Stewart continued that trend, successfully managing the transition as a record-setting pass rusher at Coastal Carolina by continuing to produce at Power Four competition with Michigan in the Big Ten the last two years.

"Coastal Carolina obviously, is a level, and he was playing really good football there," Snead said. "But when he transferred up and had two really, really productive years at Michigan. And again during their national championship run, and even this year, he's just one of those guys, when you turn it on, if you're watching the game on Saturday on your television, you're like ... who's five?... He's that guy that's jumping off the field playing relentless. I think he had a really good Rose Bowl game last year in front of a lot of people that was just fun to watch, especially against a guy like (former Alabama quarterback Jalen) Milroe."

Snead also praised Stewart's tenacity and the urgency he plays with, saying he "is just going to give more effort than the next guy."