In late April 2023, the Rams used a league-high 14 picks to assemble their draft class this year. Most of those players made an immediate impact, or at the very least had a contributing role to a team that earned a spot in the playoffs.
Here's how each of those selections fared this season. This end-of-season recap is presented by Pepsi.
OL Steve Avila (Round 2, No. 36 overall)
Avila was an important component to a Rams offensive line that blocked for the No. 10 passing offense, No. 11 rushing offense and No. 8 scoring offense in the NFL during the regular season.
Most notably, Avila finished the regular season as the only Rams player to play every snap, and also with the second-most snaps played among rookie offensive linemen (1,148). He only allowed 2.0 sacks on the season.
OLB Byron Young (Round 3, No. 77 overall)
For a period of time during the second half of the season, Young and nose tackle Kobie Turner were chasing each for the lead in sacks by an NFL rookie this season. While Turner finished ahead of him, Young's eight were still impressive. In addition to those eight sacks, he also tallied 61 total tackles (eight for loss), 19 QB hits, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery while starting in 16 of 17 regular season games played. He added three total tackles (one for loss) in the Rams' Wild Card Round playoff game against the Lions.
NT Kobie Turner (Round 3, No. 89 overall)
Turner had a strong finish to the season that saw him tie defensive tackle Aaron Donald's franchise rookie sack record with nine, a total that also led all rookies at the end of the regular season.
Besides those nine sacks, he also registered 57 total tackles (eight for loss), 16 QB hits and two passes defensed while playing in all 17 regular season games (four starts). He added half of a sack, one total tackle and two QB hits in the Rams' playoff game against the Lions.
QB Stetson Bennett (Round 4, No. 128 overall)
Bennett was placed on the Reserve/NFI list on Sept. 13 and remained on it the rest of the season.
"You know I don't know that," Rams head coach Sean McVay said Wednesday morning, when asked if he expects Bennett to be with the team next year. "I think that's a conversation for another time. I think he's doing better, but I wouldn't be in a position to answer that accurately right now. That's probably a long way away from me being able to answer that."
OLB Nick Hampton (Round 5, No. 161 overall)
Playing almost exclusively on special teams during the first half of the season, Hampton was inactive for the Rams' first three games after their bye week before he saw an uptick in snaps on defense over the final five regular season games.
He finished with four total tackles and one pass defensed overall in 10 regular season games played (inactive for the other seven), but did not record any stats in the Rams' playoff game against the Lions while playing three defensive snaps and six special teams snaps.
OL Warren McClendon Jr. (Round 5, No. 174 overall)
All six of McClendon's appearances this season came in games before the Rams' bye week; after the bye, he was inactive for five of those final eight regular season games, and did not play in two of the three he was active for. He saw a season-high 26 offensive snaps against the 49ers in Week 18 after starters were pulled.
McClendon was inactive for the Rams' playoff game against the Lions.
TE Davis Allen (Round 5, No. 175 overall)
Allen saw more action over the second half of the season, highlighted by four catches for 50 yards and his first NFL touchdown against the Ravens in Week 14.
He had 10 catches for 95 yards and one touchdown while playing in 15 regular season games (active for all 17, but did not play in two) and added two catches for 28 yards in the Rams' playoff game against the Lions.
WR Puka Nacua (Round 5, No. 177 overall)
Nacua new NFL rookie records for receptions (105) and receiving yards (1,486) while also scoring five touchdowns en route to Pro Bowl and Associated Press Second-Team All-Pro recognition.
Oh, and he caught 9 of 10 targets for 181 yards and one touchdown against the Lions in the playoffs.
DB Tre Tomlinson (Round 6, No. 182 overall)
Other than a season-high 24 defensive snaps against the Cardinals in Week 12 when the Rams pulled their starters, Tomlinson spent the majority of his rookie season contributing on special teams, but did appear in 15 of 17 regular season games. Against the Lions, all 15 of his snaps came on special teams.
OLB Ochaun Mathis (Round 6, No. 189 overall)
A knee injury during training camp landed Mathis on Injured Reserve and delayed his debut, but once activated, he did see varying levels of defensive snaps across Weeks 5-12 before not playing against the Browns and being inactive for Weeks 14-17. He saw four special teams snaps against the 49ers in the regular season finale, but was inactive against the Lions in the playoffs.
RB Zach Evans (Round 6, No. 215 overall)
Evans wasn't heavily involved in the running back rotation this season, with Kyren Williams, Ronnie Rivers and Royce Freeman commanding the majority of those carries. Evans appeared in 10 regular season games, but was inactive for the playoff game against the Lions.
P Ethan Evans (Round 7, No. 223 overall)
By the end of the regular season, Evans had the league's ninth-highest yards-per-punt average at 49.2. He also handled kickoff duties, with 73 of his 82 kickoffs resulting in touchbacks while averaging 64.5 per attempt, and was the holder on field goal and extra point attempts.
DB Jason Taylor II (Round 7, No. 234 overall)
A groin injury in the season-opener against the Seahawks landed Taylor on IR, where he spent several weeks before being activated on Nov. 25. Like some of his other defensive rookie teammates, he saw his most extensive action in that phase in Week 12 against the Cardinals and Week 18 against the 49ers, but otherwise primarily contributed on special teams.
Taylor had five total tackles in eight regular season games played and added one total tackle against the Lions in the playoffs.
DE Desjuan Johnson (Round 7, No. 259 overall)
Johnson appeared in 11 regular season games (inactive for the other six), making nine total tackles, two sacks and one forced fumble. That forced fumble ultimately clinched the Rams' Week 18 victory over the 49ers.
Against the Lions, Johnson played only three defensive snaps.
