LOS ANGELES — Tuesday's practice was Day 3 of Rams Training Camp presented by CommunityAmerica Credit Union at LMU was a closed-to-the-public jog-through and a time for both the offensive and defensive players to continue to establish a strong line of communication on and off the field.
Head coach Sean McVay, offensive lineman Kevin Dotson and safety Quentin Lake all expressed their appreciation for just how eager and competitive the Rams are as a program. But on top of that, growing chemistry from compounding years of playing together, like the offensive line, or from scratch with new players, like the secondary, is exactly what training camp is for.
"What I've seen is that when I'm around people like what we have, whether that's our players or coaches, they inspire you to want to be better. And I do believe you become the company you keep, and you can never outperform your inner circle. And I think these guys positively impact one another, and I know our coaches do the same for them." - McVay
The 2026 Los Angeles Rams are a mixed bag of continuity and new talent. The offensive remained almost entirely intact from a season ago, but the defense added some key parts in defensive end Myles Garrett and cornerbacks Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson.
On the defensive side, Lake took note of just how important having training camp and the time together is to get to know one another. Lake described it as "fun. It gives me that college, kind of high school feel, which is amazing, and you really get to know your teammates because, at the end of the day, you want to know who you're working with. You want to know what this guy's family's like, what are his morals and his values. And if I know that, if I know the person better, I'll be able to really continue to grow with that person as well."
For a secondary that revamped its cornerback room, that extra time together and getting to know one another can really drive the on-field bond, especially in a room where communication between the moving parts is key.
"What a lot of people I guess don't understand about offensive line, the fact that we have all the offensive linemen back, it's just that continuity, is probably the most important thing for an offensive line. It's like starting with new friends, sometimes that first interaction can be, you don't know how to start it, you get a little awkward. But when we came back, it was like the end of last year, we're already there. So now you can just move forward in the way that you think, you can get into higher level things because everybody went through the same thing last year." - Dotson
On the flip side, the Rams' offensive line has plenty of continuity. Former offensive lineman and veteran of the room Rob Havenstein retired following last season, but missed the majority of the season due to injury. With that, the starting offensive line is returning in its entirety and brings an extra boost of confidence knowing that.
So far in camp, the offensive line has taken on the veteran leader position by committee, each part contributing what they need and leading by example. Dotson made sure to note just how important working as an entire unit can be. "An offensive line, like they say, five as one, so that's what we try to do," Dotson said. "The more individual you are as offensive line, the less cohesion you have during the play."
"I don't feel like anything's different, I would say that everybody is almost hyper focused because there are a lot of headlines, like 'Rams are Super Bowl favorites' and this and that. But the mindset that we have is, can we just stop the the previous No. 1 offense in the NFL." - Lake
When all is said and done, what matters is how well those pieces fit together and whether those pieces can go out and win football games. From a season ago, Lake noted how nothing inherently felt different, but he did note that the team as a whole felt more "hyper focused" toward their goal.
For the defense, that mindset is whether or not it can stop the offense. And based on the numbers from a season ago, Los Angeles' defensive snaps against it's own offense could be the most challenging it has all season. "For us, it's going to be the hardest look that we get, no matter what, because they're just so crisp, so sharp and all that stuff," Lake said when talking about playing against the Rams' offense in practice. "So, to your question, is anything different? No. But I can tell everybody around me is so focused on not the future, but the present moment. 'What can we do in this practice, in this walkthrough, and all that stuff, in the meeting rooms, to continuously get better?' Which I love."
