With the 2026 NFL Draft under two months away, and the scouting combine now over, mock draft season is in full swing.
Rams fans have increased interest in the draft this year, with the team owning the No. 13 overall pick via last year's trade with the Falcons, as well as the No. 29 overall pick. Cornerback has been the most common projection for Los Angeles in the first round, but some offensive skill players have also entered the conversation after the combine.
Here's how analysts think the Rams will use those first-round selections as of March 2.
NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah went on record saying Hood has "first-round tape" and backed that up with "first-round testing" at the combine last week.
In his lone season at Tennessee last year, Hood registered an interception and nine passes defended to go along with 50 tackles. According to Pro Football Focus, his 83.3 coverage grade among cornerbacks ranked second in the SEC during the regular season and 18th in the FBS (min. 300 coverage snaps). He produced the 10th-fastest 40-yard dash time among cornerbacks at the combine (4.44 seconds) to go along with the fifth-best vertical leap (40.5 inches).
"The Rams need to bolster their secondary, and Hood is a physical, ultra-competitive press-man specialist with elite perimeter run-support skills," Wilson wrote.
With their second selection of the first round, Wilson has the Rams choosing what would likely be the eventual successor to the 2025 MVP, quarterback Matthew Stafford. Simpson only started 17 collegiate games, but when those games are played for Alabama, that experience holds extra weight. He is widely thought of as the QB2 in this draft after Indiana's Fernando Mendoza, and his skill set as a pocket passer is somewhat similar to Stafford's.
In another CBS Sports article, Josh Edwards said that Simpson had "only two bad throws" during his combine workout, and "showed little wasted movement in his footwork." He added that Simpson's performance furthered his case to be the second quarterback taken in the 2026 draft.
"Some Rams fans may not love the idea of taking Simpson, but I can't say it loudly enough: fit matters," Wilson wrote. "And if Matthew Stafford plays another year -- or two -- Simpson has the game to flourish in Sean McVay's offense."
Sadiq is the definition of a combine riser. His 4.39 40-yard dash was the fastest by a tight end at the combine since at least 2003. He added a 43.5-inch vertical and a 11-foot-1 broad jump for good measure, both of which ranked second among tight ends this year.
Sadiq led the Ducks with 51 receptions and eight touchdowns in 2025 and ranked second on the team with 560 receiving yards. That production made him a consensus top two tight end in this class, but his combine performance catapulted Sadiq to the top of the positional rankings in most analysts' eyes.
If the Rams were to select him at 13, it would be the second time in as many years where Los Angeles picked an Oregon tight end with its first pick in the draft. Normally, that would raise some eyebrows, but after the Rams' 13 personnel sets took the league by storm last season, there's a clear role for Sadiq in this offense.
"Sadiq would give Sean McVay another field stretcher and yards-after-catch option while still deploying heavy bodies, with some grit as a blocker as a nice bonus," Tice and McDonald wrote. "Sadiq would not only help the Rams for 2026, but he also shores up the position long-term for the Rams as they have several pending tight end free agents in 2027."
Tice and McDonald use the Rams' second pick in the first round to address the cornerback position. Most mock drafts have the Rams opting for defense first and offense second, so Cisse hasn't been linked to Los Angeles as commonly as Hood. The South Carolina standout caught one interception and registered six passes defended in his lone season with the Gamecocks while starting all 12 games in 2025.
"NOW is when the Rams add to their defensive backfield, this time with Cisse, who my friend Derrik Klassen from The Athletic described as 'a safety playing the cornerback position,'" Tice and McDonald wrote. "I think Cisse needs to improve in his game recognition, but he has the feistiness and explosiveness to help out somewhere, whether it's on the outside or with a move into the slot (the Rams loved their dime personnel packages under d-coordinator Chris Shula). His scrappiness and tackling ability will give him fans."
Delane's ball production has been a resounding strength throughout his four-year college career, as he's intercepted eight passes and defended 35 in 44 collegiate games. After three years at Virginia Tech, Delane transferred to LSU prior to the 2025 season, where he registered a career-high in passes defended (13) and caught two interceptions.
At six feet tall and 187 pounds, Delane boasts impressive athleticism and intelligence, a combination that makes him as dangerous to target as any player in this draft.
"The Rams have big-time secondary needs heading into free agency. If Delane makes it to them here at No. 13, it's hard to think he won't be their guy," Sikkema wrote. "He has so much inside-out versatility as a man-coverage defender. There was no athletic testing for him at the combine, but that shouldn't matter much."
Cooper was a key piece of Indiana's 2025 National Championship team, leading the Hoosiers in receptions (69) and yards (937) while catching 13 touchdowns in 16 games. His absurd toe-tap touchdown against Penn State made waves around the college football world, and certainly piqued the interest of NFL clubs, but Cooper is more than just a contested-catch specialist. He's a crisp route runner with reliable hands and high-end physical traits that he established last week.
"Cooper made himself some money at the combine," Sikkema wrote. "He was already seen as a player with a very high floor, namely the ability to play all three receiver spots with reliable hands and good contested-catch ability. But after running a 4.42-second 40-yard dash and jumping 37 inches in the vertical, he checks the athletic boxes for a higher ceiling, too. He could be the Rams' succession plan for Davante Adams."
