2025 NFL Draft Report 2: Picks 90, 101 and 127

2025 NFL Draft Report 2: Picks 90, 101 and 127

Introduction:
Now that we’ve looked at what the Rams could do at pick 26, it’s time to have a look at what they could do with their mid round picks. They currently hold picks 90, 101 and 127 but I’d be very surprised if the Rams ended up picking at those exact three spots when the draft comes around.

In this report, I will just be looking at prospects that could be available around those picks and avoid any players that the Rams could trade up or back for because at that point I would almost be listing the whole entire draft class.

I have included two players per position to try and cover the 37 pick difference but both tight end and internal O-line seem a little thin around that point in the draft so there’s just one player for those positions. Without further ado, let’s jump in to see potential Ram draftees in rounds 3 and 4.

Prospects in rounds 3/4:

QB: Quinn Ewers, Will Howard
Ewers has direct links to the Rams already and has been linked to the team since the early draft process. Les Snead’s son attends Texas college and Snead himself was pictured at the Longhorns’ Pro Day talking to Arch Manning so I’m sure he knows the ins and outs of the team as a whole and more specifically Quinn Ewers.

He has always been able to show off his impressive accuracy in both the short and intermediate throws and he has the footballing IQ to make instinctive throws to hit receivers in the perfect spot. He can be agile enough to extend plays and occasionally create yardage on the ground too. However, he is very jumpy whenever he senses any sort of pressure coming whatsoever. His pocket presence is very lacklustre and is often forced in to errand throws. His arm is also below par and sometimes struggles to throw the deep ball and relied on receivers (most commonly Matthew Golden) to adjust and make miraculous plays to bring the ball in.

Will Howard has had an up and down pre-draft process that has seen him flutter between a day two and day three projection. His combine performance left much to be desired, his accuracy on the throwing drills was very worrying. He also didn’t run the 40 which I thought was an interesting decision as he uses his legs a fair bit. His pro day however, was one of the best in the entire class. He completed 65 of 67 passes and those two incompletions were counted as drops on the receivers. He clearly has the ability, especially with receivers that he knows inside and out so he may need time to settle into an offense and find his feet.

He does have good size at 6”4 and is the heaviest draftable QB at 235lbs which does make him a threat with his legs. But Howard does need to take better care of the ball as he occasionally trusts his strong arm too much and is the culprit of a number of turnovers (10 interceptions last year).

RB: Bhayshul Tuten, Brashard Smith
The Rams already have four running backs rostered for 2025 but they’re missing a speedy, home run hitting back. Both of these players fit that mould to a tea and can help create more explosive plays on the ground for the Rams who ranked last in the league for number of explosive runs last year.

Tuten is a lightning quick back that can take any carry to the house. He has great vision and is small enough to fit through small gaps in the O-line and break in to the secondary with ease. He averaged over 6 yards per carry in his final college season breaking off many long runs. His high top-end speed and great vision also makes him an attractive option as a kick returner which means that even if he can’t contribute on the offense straight away, he can help out on special teams to help earn his place on the roster.

However, he does have some weaknesses to his game. He is far from a 3-down back as he is poor in pass protection and offers little upside in the receiving game (just 81 receiving yards last year). He also really struggled with ball protection too, fumbling the ball 4 times just last year.

Smith is an explosive back who can burst through a hole at top speed and be gone in a flash. At 5”10 and 196lbs he is a little small physically, but makes up for it with his vision and burst to be able to fly by defenders. He is a very similar player to Tuten but just a little more polished and ever so slightly more patient. 

He also isn’t great at pass blocking but he does offer an option in the passing game as he is comfortable running routes and has good hands too. Similarly, Smith also is an option in the kick return game showing that he is able to find holes and use his breakaway speed to make big returns.

TE: Gunnar Helm
Helm fits right in to the gap between the top tier talent at the top of the draft and the boom or bust prospects towards the end of the tight end class. He’s a tough, gritty receiving tight end who has high level footballing IQ. Although he lacks the top end speed, he runs nice routes and has reliable hands, bringing in off target passes with relative ease.

He does also have good size at 6”5 and 250lbs, so has the tools to be an effective blocker but really needs to work on his technique. His hand placement can be frantic and this often allows edge rushers to either bat them away or get straight up in to his chest and power their way through him. However, with coaching, he can become a reliable tight end on all three downs.

WR: Savion Williams, Tory Horton
Two receivers that are 6”3 or above but play very different stylistically. Williams relies a lot more on his athletic traits to make plays. At 6”5 and 225lbs he is a huge wide receiver that offers an incredible option in the redzone and deep downfield on 50/50 balls. Being that size and running a 4.48 40 yard dash was so impressive and shows that he has the tools to be a top wide receiver.

Although he is predominantly used outside where blocking isn’t as important, he still lacks the technique and motor to be an effective blocker. He also doesn’t have refined route running which he does get away with at times due to his size – being able to reach balls defenders can’t. If he can be moulded in to a nicer route runner then he can definitely make an impact in the NFL.

Horton is smaller at 6”3 and much lighter at 185lbs so has to rely on his silky route running and top end speed to create separation. Unlike Williams, Horton was used in numerous different ways but his light frame does sometimes mean that more physical corners can get their hands on him and restrict his route running a little. Luckily for him, defensive backs rarely cover him in press due to his high speed so often doesn’t have to worry about being overly physical.

The slender receiver does sometimes get let down by his hands as he often seems to be worried more about being hit hard after the catch than bringing the ball in safely. Horton did also miss 7 games last year due to a knee injury but that was his first severe injury in his career and had surgery to make sure he was fully healthy in time for the combine so it shouldn’t be too much of a worry for teams.

iOL: Dylan Fairchild
Fairchild is a well built guard prospect that only allowed 1.7% pressure rate in his final year of college football on 536 pass blocking snaps. At 6”5, 318lbs he has great size to be able to keep rushers at arm’s length away from his quarterback. He is a much better pass blocker than run blocker as he isn’t the most agile of linemen and relies on his hands when blocking. Hands are much more important for pass blocking as you mainly go sideways or backwards whereas you either have to be agile or powerful to create forward push in the run game. He isn’t in a position right now to be able to step in to the O-line and look right at home, but if he is taught how to use his mass to create power in the run game then he can be a valuable contributor.

OT: Anthony Belton, Charles Grant
Belton has true NFL-calibre size at 6”6 and 336lbs and he uses every bit of that size in both the run and pass game. He is very physical at the point of attack and has great power to hold defenders at bay and often even deliver pancake blocks. His motor is one of the best in the class and he never seems to stop driving and giving his all to protect his QB or create running lanes for his RB.

The main concern with Belton is his range and speed to get in to position. He sometimes had trouble against speedy pass rushers who could get off the line quickly and bend around the edge to attack the QB. At times, Belton was a little sluggish to shuffle back in to position to get face on with edge rushers and was able to give up the edge for defenders in the run game. If he can work on his get off and speed then he could be a very reliable tackle in the NFL.

Grant is an ever so slightly smaller tackle prospect (6”5, 311lbs) but possesses a similar amount of power to Belton. If he can get his hands on defensive linemen, then more often than not, he is able to drive them back with his solid base and pure power. Unlike Belton, Grant has really good burst and footwork in order to get in to position to defend his QB quickly. He is still a little susceptible to finesse/speed moves from edge rushers especially when it comes to hand fighting as he isn’t the cleanest in that aspect.

He will most likely be used as a tackle who likes to set a firm base and rely on his power, rather than wide zone run schemes where he has to have a larger range and ability to get to the second level with ease both in the run and screen game. Flags were also a concern for Grant as he did get a little grabby with sharper and speedier pass rushers who used their hands nicely to gain an advantage and get around Grant.

EDGE: Ashton Gillotte, Oluwafemi Oladejo
Gillotte doesn’t really grab you when you look at his stats for last season but if you dive a little deeper then you can see that there is definitely potential for him to turn in to a game changing edge prospect. Despite having just 5 sacks last year, he did pressure the quarterback on 16% of his pass rush snaps (11 QB hits and 41 QB hurries). Even if he isn’t bringing the QB down, he is certainly effecting the game and helping put more pressure on the opposing quarterback.

This is mainly due to his lack of bend at the top of his rush which means that sometimes he is able to get by the offensive tackle at first and create pressure, but due to the lack of bend he can’t make his way around the tackle quick enough to get to the QB. He does have a great burst off the line so if he can work on his bend then the sacks will come. Finally, he is super competitive and never gives up on the play no matter what, which has been a trait the Rams have looked for in the past couple of drafts.

Oladejo is a really intriguing prospect that only has one year of experience playing on the edge. He was used as an inside linebacker at UCLA up to his final year in college where he showed real promise that he could become a great edge rusher. He is still extremely raw and will require a lot of coaching to be able to reach that potential but he certainly does have a high ceiling.

Playing inside a lot has given him great vision and instincts so quickly diagnoses whether to get up field and rush the passer or set the edge to avoid runs getting by him. His pass rush moves do need refining a little but he has really powerful, effective hands that can help him win with both power and finesse.

DT: Joshua Farmer, Deone Walker
Farmer has a nice build for a defensive tackle at 6”3 and 305lbs. His main weapon is his hand usage. His hands really pack a punch and clearly surprised a few offensive linemen with how powerful they are and how much push he got against them. He uses his hands to get an initial knockback and then can get up in to the chest of linemen and use his raw power to bull rush through them.

His finesse and agility could use some work as his burst off the line isn’t great and he has a lot of wasted steps when rushing the passer or defending the run. This means if he isn’t able to get that initial punch from his hands then O-linemen are able to hold their ground as Farmer doesn’t hold a firm base and generate push from his legs as effectively as he could do.

Walker is a huge defensive tackle at 6”7 and 331lbs and uses all of that mass to his advantage. He is the human embodiment of the word ‘mauler’. He is very physical at the point of attack and, like Farmer, uses his hands well to generate power against O-linemen who are actually usually smaller than him.

The physical tools and use of power show that there is clearly potential for Walker to become a contributor for any team, but he does need a lot of work to make him a more reliable prospect. He does play too tall at times and lacks the agility and bend to make any impact on plays that O-linemen get a grip on him early. He does also go missing in some plays, some believe this is fitness related and others believe it is simply a lack of effort so I’m sure teams will be doing physicals and in person meetings with him to try and figure that one out.

LB: Jeffrey Bassa, Barrett Carter
Bassa would be the perfect complement to current Rams linebacker Omar Speights. Speights has nice vision and run-stopping ability that can work perfectly with Bassa’s quality in pass defence. Bassa does struggle against the run and having good enough vision to fill holes, but that is what Speights is so good at. He thrives in man coverage where he can be sticky to any tight ends or running backs and mirror any route they run. He didn’t test amazingly which may have dropped him down on some boards, but he plays a lot faster in game as the time lost to others in the 40 yard dashes will be made up by his quick processing speed.

The main quality that may attract the Rams to Bassa is his general character. He has been praised for his leadership both on and off the field, being able to communicate to his teammates before the snap with ease and calmness. Alongside his leadership, he is also the ultimate competitor who puts his all in to the game, which is clear to see with his pursuits and tackling as he never gives up on anything.

Carter is an athletic freak that can fly around the field. Once he is able to diagnose a play, whether that be a run or pass, he showcases really impressive speed and burst to get in to the position he needs to be in. The main problem with Carter is his instincts and being able to recognise the play quickly. He relied on his athletic traits to make up for that in college, but the NFL is a whole different animal that is levels above anything he came up against in college so some teams may believe that he might get caught out at times.

At 6”0 he is a tad small but he brings the juice on every single play, offering true sideline to sideline ability as well as being a very impressive blitzer when asked to be. If Carter can match his athleticism with some quicker processing and higher footballing IQ then he can become a real difference maker in the NFL.

CB: Nohl Williams, Cobee Bryant
Williams is a well built corner who has incredible ball skills and always seems to be a magnet to the football. He had 7 interceptions last year on just 66 targets, including two against Auburn which just so happens to be the college that Les Snead attended. Most of his picks came from sitting back in zone and using his elite burst to break on the ball and get in front of receivers. He does have good size for a corner at 6”0 and 200lbs which helps him when fighting receivers for the ball at the point of contact.

Despite his good build, he could be more reliable in the run game and with his tackling. He can sometimes get out of shape and allow running backs to bounce off him and away for yards after contact. He is also a little weak in press coverage but the Rams don’t rely on a lot of press coverage so this wouldn’t be too much of an issue if the Rams did draft Williams.

Bryant has similar length to Williams but is much slimmer at 180lbs. He also has great ball skills (4 picks last year) but relies more on his instincts than his athletic traits to make plays. Like Williams, he likes to sit back in zone and watch things progress in front of him but he uses his high footballing IQ and quality instincts to make sure he’s in the perfect position to be able to make plays on the ball. However, his instincts were sometimes too good in a way, as he often seemed to know exactly the route that the receiver was running but got too eager and got too close and handsy which resulted in occasional flags.

He may struggle against bigger and more physical receivers who can box out his slender build, but he has the mental traits and production to prove that he can definitely be a difference maker in the NFL.

S: RJ Mickens, Billy Bowman Jr
Mickens is similar to a current Rams safety who had an impressive rookie campaign – Kam Kinchens. RJ has great footballing IQ and instincts that he can rely on to always put him in good positions to make plays on the ball rather than having to rely on his average physical traits. He has OK size at 6”0 and 199lbs but he lacks top-end speed and burst that a lot of other safeties use to their advantage. 

He had 7 pass deflections and 2 interceptions last year which clearly shows that he gets in to great positions to make plays on the ball from the safety spot but he is quite limited to being a deep zone safety that can read the field in front of him rather than being in man to man or down in the box.

Bowman is a small safety at just 5”10 and 192lbs but unlike Mickens, can play a range of different roles on the defence. He is at his best in deep zone when he can use his instincts and ball skills to break up deep balls or break on throws and make big plays but he does have the ability to come down in the box and line up against running backs.

He has great play recognition that means he can diagnose the play before many others and put himself in a position to make plays or shut down the play. However, he does need to work on his tackling as he can get outmuscled fairly easily and shoved off of receivers or running backs if he doesn’t gather momentum behind his tackle attempt.

My opinions:

Out of all of these players I have three personal favourites that I would love the Rams to draft if they fall to their draft spots: Nohl Williams, Ashton Gillotte and Jeffrey Bassa. The one key similarity between all three of those prospects is their character, leadership and competitive nature. These traits are something the Rams have really tapped in to over the last couple of years so really wouldn’t be surprised if these players were on their radar and impressed in any meetings that they have had.

I believe all three could come in and make an instant impact too, either starting straight away – Williams and Bassa - or joining the rotation for their position – Ashton Gillotte. Knowing Les Snead and the Rams though, they’ll draft someone here who everyone has a 6th round grade on so what do I know to try and guess who they take!