We don’t just scout players. We decode roster intent. We read the silence between transactions.
West Coast Chess: The McVay Way
“The Draft isn’t hope. It’s leverage.”
In Los Angeles, nothing is ever what it seems.
You see the glitz. You see the gold. You see McVay smiling for the cameras, Stafford sipping from a Gatorade bottle, Les Snead tossing a phone onto the draft room table like he’s closing on beachfront property.
But behind that?
Behind that is war.
Because the NFL Draft isn’t theater. It’s power.
And no team understands that better than the Rams.
This franchise doesn’t play the game the way others do. They punted on first-round picks for half a decade, won a Super Bowl doing it, and then came back with a vengeance — armed with mid-round ammo and a new generation of scouts trained to find value where others see noise.
And now, in 2025?
They’re drafting not to survive — but to reemerge.
To reload.
To build a roster not for Instagram likes, but for blood, turf, and postseason scars.
This isn’t about flashy picks or name-brand prospects. This is about finding football players who fit like cogs in McVay’s machine. Tough, flexible, smart, unselfish. The kind of guys who show up in December when it’s cold and brutal and every inch matters.
Because when the lights go down and the music cuts out — all that’s left is tape, trust, and a war room with one mandate:
Don’t draft for applause. Draft to win weeks 15 through 20.
So pour a black coffee. Turn the lights low.
This is The War Room.
This is The 2025 State Of The Franchise.
And the Draft board?
The board doesn’t lie.
THE REMASTERED McVAY ERA
Volume I — Reloading With Precision
“We don’t tank. We reload.”
That’s not a quote. That’s a lifestyle at 29899 Agoura Road. Where other teams gut it down to studs, the Rams retool in full daylight. They don’t rebuild. They reboot—like auteurs splicing new film into an ongoing masterpiece.
Matthew Stafford isn’t who he once was. But he’s still enough. Enough to win. Enough to scare defenses. Enough to build around.
And Sean McVay? He’s not chasing another Super Bowl.
He’s chasing the blueprint to do it again.
The Aaron Donald Evolution
There is no replacement for Aaron Donald.
But there is a reaction.
Last year, the Rams double-tapped the position with Jared Verse and Braden Fiske, two wrecking balls from Tallahassee with the power and motor to change fronts. They’re not Donald. They never will be. But they are the next iteration of disruption. Together, they anchor a rotation built on heat and hunger.
2025 isn’t about finding his shadow.
It’s about building a front that no longer needs one.
Fit: Aeneas Peebles (DT, Virginia Tech) — third-down assassin behind Verse/Fiske. Instant interior pass-rush specialist.
Sleeper Fit: Elijah Roberts (DL/EDGE, SMU) — violent tweener who can sub in as 3T or 5T. Perfect for McVay’s hybrid fronts.
Offensive Blueprint: Protect What You Have, Develop What’s Next
Offensive Line Fits:
Ozzy Trapilo (OT, Boston College) — The Athletic Shield
Fit: Natural fit for McVay’s outside zone. High ceiling swing tackle.
Jared Wilson (C, Georgia) — The Smartest Man in the Room
Fit: Immediate plug-and-play center in a scheme that requires pre-snap IQ and lateral mobility.
Wyatt Milum (OL, West Virginia) — The Tone-Setter
Fit: Guard conversion. Day 3 enforcer. Heavy hands, high motor.
Sleeper Fit: Marcus Mbow (OL, Purdue) — athletic, fits zone-blocking prototypes, developmental upside.
Defensive Blueprint: Layers, Rotations, Violence
Front Seven Fits:
Jared Ivey (EDGE, Ole Miss) — The Set-and-Hold Edge
Fit: Strongside edge in base 4-3 with rotational pass-rush value.
Aeneas Peebles (DT, Virginia Tech) — The Chaos Technician
Fit: Instant subpackage interior disruptor. Can win 1-on-1s vs guards.
Chris Paul Jr. (LB, Ole Miss) — The Wild Card
Fit: WILL backer with special teams upside. Smart, fluid, rangy.
Sleeper Fit: Jordan Burch (EDGE, Oregon) — athletic tools, still developing. Flash player with starting traits.
Secondary Reset: Instinct Over Optics
Xavier Watts (S, Notre Dame) — The Invisible Weapon
Fit: Split-field or single-high versatility. Ball production + anticipation.
Darien Porter (CB, Iowa State) — The Alien in Pads
Fit: Gunner on Day 1, perimeter press project by 2026.
Lathan Ransom (S, Ohio State) — The Steady Hand
Fit: Depth safety and core special teamer with starter potential.
Sleeper Fit: Shavon Revel (CB, ECU) — size/speed DB with press instincts. ACL recovery clouds his stock, not his tape.
McVay’s Weapon Wishlist
Andrew Armstrong (WR, Arkansas) — The Sideline Technician
Fit: Big catch-radius target with Z or X traits. Red zone mismatch.
Joshua Simon (TE, South Carolina) — The Seam Stressor
Fit: Move tight end. Ideal for motion/mismatch creation in 12 personnel.
Jaylin Noel (WR, Iowa State) — The Chain Mover
Fit: Slot WR who separates underneath and reads coverage like a QB.
Sleeper Fit: Savion Williams (WR, TCU) — WR/TE tweener with strong hands. Could play hybrid mismatch role.
Quarterback Succession: Plan Beyond Stafford
Tyler Shough (QB, Louisville) — The Ready-Made Rookie
Fit: System-ready backup with leadership and quick read traits.
Riley Leonard (QB, Notre Dame) — The Projector
Fit: Developmental QB with dual-threat upside. Needs mechanical refinement but shows starter flashes.
Sleeper Fit: Tyler Van Dyke (QB, Wisconsin) — strong arm, improved footwork, and ideal for vertical timing offenses. Could develop into a long-term backup or spot-starter.
Final Word: This Isn’t Flash. This Is Foundation.
The Rams aren’t desperate. They’re deliberate.
Verse and Fiske already replaced panic with purpose. Now it’s about depth. About insulation. About optionality.
Snead and McVay have their fingerprints on every frame of this roster.
And when the film rolls in December?
They’ll have built a team that wasn’t rebuilt.
It was reimagined.
Welcome back to the war room.
Welcome back to L.A.
Because the future?
It’s still theirs to write.
TheNSR TEAM MOCK DRAFT: (Los Angeles Rams)
Joseph Angel | Chief NFL Draft Analyst for TheNSR Network
