2016 Los Angeles Rams 53-Man Roster Post-Draft Projection

Bold indicates a player projected to make the roster. Italics indicates a player will not.

QB (3)

Jared Goff, Case Keenum, Sean Mannion, Nick Foles

It's very hard to see how Nick Foles is a Los Angeles Ram in 2016. With his roster bonus for 2016 already paid out, there's not a huge impediment for another team taking him on. The difficulty for the Rams is getting a decent Day 3 pick for him in a draft to come. The key is timing. Clearly, no team got desperate at the tail end of the 2016 NFL Draft. That means the Rams will have to wait as offseason programs take place and we ramp up into training camp and the preseason to see (a) how various injuries affect the QB landscape and (b) if any teams look at their QB depth chart with renewed concern as the season gets closer.

Aside from Foles, the only real questions are when Goff will assume command of the offense (expect a ton of coverage on that in the weeks and months ahead) and the Mannion/Keenum dynamic as the battle for the backup slot intensifies between Keenum's hold on the short-term position and Mannion's long-term viability.

RB (4)

Todd Gurley, Benny Cunningham, Tre Mason, Chase Reynolds, Malcolm Brown, Aaron Green

This one's tough to parse after Gurley and Cunningham. Mason's dealing with, uh, off-field issues that compound the reality that he's clearly not much more valuable to the current staff than Cunningham is as Benny played 100 more snaps than Mason did in 2015. I've still got him in the mix though ahead of Brown and Green, one of the Rams' new UDFAs. And Reynolds might be on thin ice as a special teams contributor on a new one-year deal.

Last year, the Rams kicked off with five running backs on the roster with the four indicated above and Isaiah Pead. Cropping the position depth chart to four would allow for depth elsewhere and more special teams readiness.

WR (6)

Tavon Austin, Kenny Britt, Bradley Marquez, Pharoh Cooper, Mike Thomas, Brian Quick, Isiah Ferguson, Stedman Bailey, Wes Welker, Deon Long, Nick Toon, Kain Colter, Marquez North, Paul McRoberts, Nelson Spruce

This one's tough. I'm not sure Thomas makes the 53-man out of the gate. I could see him heading to the practice squad at first. Ferguson's coming back from an ACL injury, so I don't know how practice-ready he'll be throughout the offseason program. And look, we all love Stedman Bailey's story. But I don't know that it earns him a spot on the roster. He may need more time to (a) recover and (b) and get into game mode. He could be an early season call up after a first injury.

TE/FB (3)

Lance Kendricks, Cory Harkey, Tyler Higbee, Temarrick Hemingway, Zach Laskey, Justice Cunningham

This one's comfortable, right?

OL (10)

Tim Barnes, Jamon Brown, Andrew Donnal, Rob Havenstein, Garrett Reynolds, Demetrius Rhaney, Greg Robinson, Rodger Saffold, Cody Wichmann, Darrell Williams, Isaiah Battle, David Arkin, Eric Kush, Brian Folkerts, Pace Murphy, Jordan Swindle

It's hard to see how the Rams make any changes to the 10-pack they had going into 2015.

DL (8)

Michael Brockers, Aaron Donald, William Hayes, Robert Quinn, Eugene Sims, Ethan Westbrooks, Quinton Coples, Louis Trinca-Pasat, Matt Longacre, Doug Worthington, Morgan Fox

The Rams went eight wide last year. Chris Long and Nick Fairley give way to Quinton Coples and LTP.

LB (5)

Alec Ogletree, Akeem Ayers, Bryce Hager, Cameron Lynch, Nicholas Grigsby, Josh Forrest, Brandon Chubb, Kache Palacio, Zack Hodges, Matthew Wells, Darreon Herring, Ian Seau

I've got Grigsby in a bit of a surprise to win the Daren Bates special teams contributor hole. Forrest has more of a shot as a linebacker, but could be practice squad-stashed for tutelage whereas Grigsby could come in on ST and not pick up any real time at LB a la Bates.

CB (5)

Trumaine Johnson, E.J. Gaines, Lamarcus Joyner, Marcus Roberson, Coty Sensabaugh, Eric Patterson, Troy Hill, Melvin White, Michael Jordan, Winston Rose

I know Rams fans are eager to get Gaines back in the mix, but I wonder how wise it is to assume he'll return to form from 2014 or even grow beyond that. The depth the Rams have stacked up at the position indicates a lack of confidence in the depth chart. I think that's a clear marker for fans to be hopeful for Gaines but remain skeptical for the time being.

S (6)

T.J. McDonald, Mark Barron, Maurice Alexander, Cody Davis, Christian Bryant, Brian Randolph, Jordan Lomax, Rohan Gaines

I've got the Rams loading up at safety with both Bryant and Randolph sneaking in. There's room on this roster for rookie contributors, and I'm giving one of my nods to Randolph. We'll have to see how things start shaking out in Phase II of the offseason program and then head into camp and get some insights from Hard Knocks.

ST (3)

Greg Zuerlein, Johnny Hekker, Jake McQuaide, Taylor Bertolet, Jeff Overbaugh

Not a ton to overthink here. Bertolet should be able to find a career at this level, but GZ's got a prove-it year coming. He'll have plenty of motivation. Does he finally settle back down in 2016 even with the move to an outdoor stadium?