The Los Angeles Rams concluded OTAs and mandatory minicamp last week. Players won’t report again until July 23, when training camp is scheduled to begin at Loyola Marymount University. Let’s take a look at whose stock has risen and whose stock has fallen over the summer.
Stock Up: RB Blake Corum
It’s hard to say anyone has more speed heading into training camp than Blake Corum. With Kyren Williams out of OTAs due to a foot injury, Corum got more opportunities than he would have otherwise and he took advantage of it. This is a player the Rams selected in the third round and are really liked as a complement to Williams.
Much like Puka Nacua last year, Corum is taking advantage of the player ahead of him who is missing time. Nacua built that trust with Sean McVay, showing he can take in a lot of information and that helped him play a bigger role in the offense during the regular season. Corum will have to maintain that trust and show he can be trusted in pass protection, but this was a very good start.
Stock Down: S Kam Kitchens
Coming out of the draft, there was a lot of excitement over safety Cam Kinchens as he could be a potential third-round steal. Kinchens had 11 interceptions and was a big playmaker for Miami the past two years. It was believed that Kinchens could even get a chance to start.
That doesn’t mean it can’t or won’t happen. With that said, there has been nothing said about Kinchens from the coaching staff or anything written about the rookie by the media. Everything has been quiet about the Rams rookie safety. That could change during training camp and when preseason games begin to be played. However, the pursuit of Kinchens has cooled off since the draft.
Stock Up: EDGE Nick Hampton
Jared Verse was the talk of the town in OTAs and looked like a player that the coaches liked even without the pads. Despite Verse’s impact and Byron Young’s speed, the Rams will need to find a rotational pass rusher in the edge group. One player they will be looking to take the next step in his second year is Nick Hampton.
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McVay said he has seen Hampton move in the right direction and Jordan Rodrigue of The Athletic mentioned Hampton as a player he will keep an eye on in training camp once he puts on the pads. This is a player the Rams need moving forward and he could build some momentum.
Stock Down: Matthew Stafford Contract Talks
Rams OTAs went pretty well, but the huge cloud of Matthew Stafford’s contract loomed throughout the spring and early summer. The sooner the Rams are able to do something and put it behind them, the better. Stafford has no guaranteed money for the final two years of his contract, which he may want to change. However, if the Rams give him this, they lose a lot of flexibility with that contract and have to make another commitment to their star quarterback.
We’ll see if anything happens between now and training camp. The Rams don’t report to training camp until July 23, giving them plenty of time to do something. Plus, this has been going on since at least the draft, if not before the first reports.
Stock Up: TE Colby Parkinson
Similar to Corum, Colby Parkinson has also received more opportunities as the team’s top tight end due to Tyler Higbee being out due to injury. It’s very likely that the Rams will rely on Parkinson for at least the first month of the season, if not longer until Higbee is healthy.
Parkinson made one of the best catches in OTAs and according to Rodrigue, he has ‘participated in practice.’ The former Seattle Seahawks tight end is known more for his blocking, but he could showcase more of his receiving ability in the Rams’ offense. As one of the team’s bigger free agent signings, this looks like a good start.
