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The Los Angeles Rams walked away from the 2023 NFL Draft with 14 rookies after maneuvering up and down the board to fill numerous positions of need.
Throughout the offseason, the Rams have slowly been able to sign their rookies to their contracts. The most notable one was Steve Avila whom Los Angeles selected in their second round as he was awarded a four-year contract with full guarantees in the first three years and 10 percent guaranteed in the final year.
Outside of Avila’s unprecedented deal, the Rams made good progress with the rest of the class as they’ve been steadily announcing signings. The final two players who had yet to be signed were Kobie Turner and Byron Young but both have officially put pen to paper, via Field Yates of ESPN:
The Rams have wrapped up their draft class by signing third-rounders Kobie Turner and Byron Young to their rookie contracts.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) July 14, 2023
Los Angeles took Young and Turner No. 77 and No. 89 overall, respectively, and both players are expected to take play meaningful snaps early on. The defense took a major step back in the offseason when the Rams had to make the difficult decision to clear cap space by offloading their pricy veterans.
Outside linebacker is a premium position in the NFL and coming into the 2023 season, the Rams looked extremely thin at the position. Drafting someone like Young made a lot of sense for Los Angeles as the Tennessee product recorded 43 tackles, 23.5 tackles for loss, 12.5 sacks and one interception in two seasons.
The defensive line also needed to be addressed after Los Angeles lost Greg Gaines and A’Shawn Robinson in free agency. Turner gets a great opportunity to lineup alongside Aaron Donald and show off what he can do. The defensive lineman was productive in his final season at Wake Forest, recording 38 tackles (including 10 for loss), three forced fumbles and two sacks.
With 14 rookies and 26 undrafted free agents, the Rams will be incredibly young and inexperienced. Most of them will be cut when the team has to whittle the roster down to 53, but it’s a good bet that both Turner and Young are there for Week 1.
Sean McVay has seen tremendous strides from Cobie Durant and Derion Kendrick
Outside of the rookies, the Rams will also be leaning on their second-year players to make an impact. Cobie Durant and Derion Kendrick have been two popular names to make a leap and they’re on the right track as Sean McVay has liked what he’s seen from them so far.
More must-reads:
- NFC South check-in: Most, least improved position group post-draft
- Joe Burrow shares 'support' for Bengals who requested trades
- The 'NFL MVP runners-up' quiz
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