Questions loom in evaluating the Rams Day 3 selections

INGLEWOOD, Calif.––The Rams entered Day 3 of the draft with a meager class and no capital in the fourth or fifth rounds. 

Los Angeles held four total picks on Saturday, three of them in the seventh, and used three of those selections to trade up for a wide receiver who carries a surprising amount of risk. When a team already thin on draft ammo chooses to consolidate it into two prospects, the logic behind the fits has to be airtight. In examining the two, only one appears to have a path towards landing on the roster based on scheme fit.

Round 6, Pick 197: CJ Daniels, WR, Miami

Trading three picks to move up ten spots in the late sixth round is a steep price for any prospect, let alone a 24-year-old receiver who doesn’t address clear roster priorities. 

The Rams already have Puka Nacua as the top target, and Davante Adams is signed through 2025, with another year of control beyond that. Behind them, the room gets thin quickly—Tutu Atwell departed in free agency, and Jordan Whittington, Konata Mumpfield, Xavier Smith and Tru Edwards have yet to carve out reliable roles. 

There is room on the roster for a physical, possession-style receiver who can win in the red zone, and that’s the one genuine area where Daniels’ scouting report and tape align with a need.

Daniels is a nuanced route runner with a feel for late separation and a track record of winning contested catches. 

At LSU and Miami, he consistently used his body to shield defenders, showed crafty tempo changes, and displayed reliable hands in traffic. That skill set could theoretically give Matthew Stafford a big slot or a boundary target on money downs, especially inside the twenty. The problem is everything else. Daniels struggles badly against press coverage, lacks the burst to separate vertically, and offers nothing after the catch. He won’t run away from anyone. He’s also missed time with injuries in three separate college seasons and has never produced a 100-yard receiving game, even after stepping up from Liberty to Power-5 competition.

What makes the fit shaky isn’t just the trade cost; it’s the lack of special-teams value. The Rams have consistently asked their depth receivers to contribute on coverage units, and Daniels has no background there. When you’re a late-round wideout with athletic limitations and no fourth-down role, making the roster becomes an uphill fight. He’ll be competing with younger, faster players who can run down kicks. Unless he dominates in red-zone drills this summer, he profiles as a practice squad candidate rather than a lock to stick on a team that already has defined top-two targets and a head coach who values versatility.

Round 7, Pick 232: Tim Keenan III, DT, Alabama

This pick makes far more sense within the framework of what the Rams want to be defensively. Los Angeles needed to add girth, heft and reliability to a run defense that has been inconsistent inside. Last year's free-agent signing of Poona Ford provided Los Angeles with a short, powerful nose tackle who plays with leverage and anchors against double-teams. 

Keenan is essentially a developmental understudy cut from the same cloth. He’s built like a fire hydrant, carries natural play strength, and understands how to reset the line of scrimmage by beating centers to the punch with quick hands.

His 2024 tape at Alabama showed a player who could hold the point, work laterally in short areas, and stay square while absorbing combo blocks. Those are traits that fit the Rams’ 3-4 base front, where a zero-technique or shaded nose has to keep linebackers clean, and force runs to bounce. 

Keenan won’t be a pass-rush threat—his arm length is below average, he struggles to shed in time, and he lacks the burst to collapse the pocket—but that’s not why he was drafted. Behind Ford, Kobie Turner, and Braden Fiske, the depth chart needed a true early-down run plugger who can chew up snaps without being a liability. The captaincy at Alabama also points to the kind of mature, low-maintenance personality the Rams typically value in later rounds.

The main concerns here are weight management and his production dipping in 2025. If he reports to camp heavy or out of shape, his already limited range will suffer even more. But as a seventh-round flyer, the bet is easy to understand. He has a defined role in the scheme, the Rams have a clear need for that role as a rotational piece, and he won’t be asked to do things he can’t do.

The Bottom Line

Two picks is a tiny draft cohort to evaluate, and the aggressive trade for Daniels risks wasting three darts for a player who doesn’t fix a weak spot or add special teams value. Keenan is a cleaner fit who fills a vacancy behind Ford and gives the defensive line coach a true nose to develop. The Rams came into the weekend needing to hit on niche contributors with limited ammo. One pick feels like a direct scheme match with clear roster logic. The other is a curious reach that could look like a miss before the preseason ends.