With the loss on Sunday Night Football in Week 12, the Los Angeles Rams are now 5-6 and third in the NFC West. The season is far from over for the Rams. But if they are going to make the playoffs it will likely have to come from winning the NFC West.
With the loss, the Rams are currently slated with the number 16th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. The Rams have many options with the pick. They have plenty of needs.
In the latest Pro Football Focus 2025 NFL Mock Draft by Gordan McGinness, he has the Rams selecting offensive tackle Josh Simmons out of Ohio State.
"With current starting left tackle Alaric Jackson set to hit free agency in 2025, the Rams could be in the market for a Day 1 starter at the position in the draft," wrote McGinness.
"Before an injury sidelined him in Week 7, Simmons was enjoying a career year. He earned an impressive 86.7 PFF pass-blocking grade, allowing just two pressures—neither of which were sacks or quarterback hits—on 158 pass-blocking snaps."
With the selection of Simmons, the Rams are filling a huge need on the offensive line.
All season, the Rams offensive line has struggled to stay healthy. They have played most of the season without the same starting five offensive linemen.
The Rams could go younger on the offensive side with Simmons. Or add more depth on the offensive line if they elect to resign Alaric Jackson in the offseason.
According to PFF, Jackson has played 586 snaps this season. Jackson has committed five penalties and allowed three sacks. PFF has Jackson with a 73.7 grade so far in the season.
The Rams cannot go wrong with selecting a tackle to protect veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford.
We have seen the Rams go with younger players on the defensive side of the ball. Will they continue the trend in next year's draft and find young talent to fill in the needs on the offensive side?
The Rams have done a great job finding young talent in recent drafts. It could be in the early rounds or the late rounds but the Rams will find the talent.
Ensure you follow on X (Twitter) @RamsInsideronSI and @tcav30 and never miss another breaking news story again.
Please let us know your thoughts when you like our Facebook page WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/rams/ as REPORT: Rams with Surprise Pick in Latest Mock Draft.