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NFL 2026 NFL Draft LSU's Mansoor Delane is among the top cornerback options in this year's draft class. Michael De Mocker / Getty Images INDIANAPOLIS — The Los Angeles Rams are through the NFL Scouting Combine, an event they barely participate in. They are two months away from the start of the NFL Draft, and this year is a big one for them with 10 total picks and two first-round selections, a clear departure from their recent norms. Advertisement With picks 13 and 29, the focus of this first 2026 big board will be on first-round options. We’ll split it into a few tiers, from dream scenarios down to fallback options. Let’s get to it. Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame: This is bold, not only because Love is unlikely to fall to No. 13 but because the Rams already have two running backs, Kyren Williams and Blake Corum, they like and have invested in, as well as a third in Jarquez Hunter, who they stashed as a 2025 fourth-round pick. But if there’s an improvement out there for the Rams, it’s in a big-play machine like Love. He brought that with impressive consistency at Notre Dame, topping 1, 100 yards and scoring at least 17 rushing touchdowns in each of the past two seasons. Love also had 55 total catches and five receiving touchdowns in that span. He’d be the definition of a luxury pick here, and it’s therefore unlikely but not impossible. Mansoor Delane, CB, LSU: The Rams’ top need is clearly outside cornerback. If they have a lane to the best option in this year’s draft, that’d be a home run. Delane is receiving those kinds of rave reviews after he totaled six interceptions the past two seasons between Virginia Tech and LSU. At a listed 6 feet, 190 pounds, he brings the press-man coverage skills and break-on-the-ball ability to be scheme-versatile. He could be the Rams’ best shot at finding a true lockdown No. 1 outside corner.

Sonny Styles, LB, Ohio State: The Rams’ defensive concerns are mostly tied to the secondary, but they have a spot to upgrade at linebacker potentially. Styles could be that upgrade after he ran a blistering 4. 46-second 40-yard dash at the combine to back up the 182 tackles and 17 tackles for loss he piled up on an elite Ohio State defense over the past two seasons. Styles can thump in the run game and stick with fast tight ends in man coverage, which is what the Rams would need if they want another stalwart playing next to Nate Landman on the second level. Advertisement Carnell Tate, WR, Ohio State: Similar to running back, this would be a bit of a luxury pick with how established the Rams’ top two options are, but they need a No. 3 receiver to replace the role they originally planned for Tutu Atwell — as well as a successor to Davante Adams, who enters a contract year at age 33. Tate produced well but not off the charts at Ohio State, where he topped 700 yards in each of the past two seasons and scored nine touchdowns last year. But he was also playing sidekick to the phenom that is Jeremiah Smith. At 6-foot-3, 195 pounds, Tate profiles as a future No. 1 option but could find a great home in Los Angeles as a No. 2 to Puka Nacua. Makai Lemon, WR, USC: Tate and Lemon are in a battle to be the top receiver taken in this year’s draft, so landing either one still feels like a high-end outcome for a team drafting No. 13. The Rams could keep Lemon in Los Angeles and develop him in that No. 3 role in Year 1 that expands in Year 2, and he can provide instant value given his strong blocking to answer for the deficiency that kept Atwell off the field when the Rams did play in 11 personnel. Lemon broke out with 1, 156 yards and 11 receiving touchdowns last season. So, unlike Tate, he has already faced the burden of playing as a team’s No. 1 option. Francis Mauigoa, OT, Miami: A year ago, it looked like the Rams were headed for a first-round offensive tackle pick to replace an aging Rob Havenstein. He indeed retired this offseason, but Los Angeles found a promising replacement in 2023 fifth-rounder Warren Mc Clendon Jr. , who is also entering a contract year. So drafting a tackle high this year is about chasing a higher ceiling on a rookie-contract clock, and that’s where Mauigoa’s case lives. He made 42 career starts at Miami as a mauler for one of the most physical offenses that finished in the national championship game. If he’s the second tackle selected in this draft, that could be a justification for the Rams to make an upgrade and bump Mc Clendon to a swing tackle role they also need to fill. Advertisement Jermod Mc Coy, CB, Tennessee: This fit is cleaner on paper, to be clear. Mc Coy fits like a glove for many of the same reasons Delane does. He’s a playmaker with two schools of evidence after intercepting six total passes at Oregon State and Tennessee in 2023 and 2024. He’s 6 feet, 193 pounds, and built to play press man and make plays in zone coverage. The only question is whether he’s ready to fill the Rams’ CB1 role right away. If he’s part of a multi-player plan to address the position, the fit becomes even stronger. Jordyn Tyson, WR, Arizona State: As the Rams look at possible No. 3 receiver options who can blossom into a No. 2 in a year, Tyson will be on the radar. At 6-foot-2, 200 pounds with experience in different alignments, he checks several boxes in the receiving game. He showed that upside with 1, 101 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2024 and on a per-game basis last year with 711 yards and nine touchdowns in nine games. Tyson dealt with a few injuries that cost him a few games and might have affected his run blocking, which will be a real focus for this position. Dillon Thieneman, S, Oregon: The Rams’ second biggest need is arguably safety, but it’s going to require the right fit to capitalize on the versatility of Quentin Lake. That’s why Caleb Downs isn’t on this list, despite how great he is. With Kam Curl headed to free agency, the Rams have an opening for a starter, and versatility and readiness would help fill that void. Thieneman projects that way, having posted six interceptions at Purdue before his transfer to Oregon, as well as enough size at 6 feet, 205 pounds to handle run defense. His versatility could feel slightly stifled in this busy safety room, but it also means he won’t be overextended as a rookie. Ty Simpson, QB, Alabama: The Rams don’t need a quarterback right now, thanks to rostering the league’s MVP in Matthew Stafford, but they will before long. Stafford announced that he’s coming back for an 18th season at age 38, but the realistic window could shrink soon. If Los Angeles is going to try the stash route with a quarterback for Sean Mc Vay and new assistant head coach Kliff Kingsbury to develop, Simpson has potential. Advertisement He essentially carried the Crimson Tide to the second round of the College Football Playoff with 3, 567 passing yards, 28 touchdowns and five interceptions. He started just one season in college, so he needs seasoning. His traits aren’t elite, but he offers a good mix. He could start as a backup to Stafford as a rookie and then wait patiently for his time. Monroe Freeling, OT, Georgia: The threshold for what counts as a right tackle improvement over Mc Clendon will be key in scouting the rest of this class. In readiness, Freeling might not jump off the tape with just 17 career starts, but they came at an elite level of play and in a strong development system. His 6-foot-7, 315-pound frame suggests there’s more to unpack in time. Mc Clendon gives the Rams an option to have a starter ready at right tackle if a talented rookie needs just a little seasoning. Whether that dips into a strong future investment or more of a luxury pick for a team with title aspirations depends on how soon he can put it together. Malachi Fields, WR, Notre Dame: As the Rams scout wide receiver prospects, Fields could stand out as a solid, classic boundary option with just a lower ceiling than Tate, Lemon or Tyson. At 6-foot-4, 218 pounds, he could eventually take over for the classic outside role Adams runs. He had at least 630 receiving yards and five touchdowns in each of his final three college seasons between Virginia and Notre Dame. Blake Miller, OT, Clemson: A tackle who fits a little in between the profiles of Mauigoa and Freeling. Miller brings a lot of experience with 54 career starts, and it shows in a balanced game that doesn’t quite pop as a pass protector the way Mauigoa’s does. But at 6-foot-6, 315 pounds, he moves well in space and can fit the different run schemes the Rams like to deploy. Los Angeles will tap into offensive linemen somewhere in this draft with contracts coming due, and the second pick in the first round could be a reasonable spot for the right one. Advertisement Emmanuel Mc Neil-Warren, S, Toledo: If Curl isn’t back, the Rams could use a more traditional strong safety type who specializes in run defense. That’s Mc Neil-Warren’s game at 6-foot-2, 202 pounds, as he showed off with 77 tackles and 5. 5 tackles for loss for Toledo last season. He’s serviceable but a little more limited against the pass, but that can fit well next to Lake and with Kamren Kinchens guarding for deep-threat speed over the top. Avieon Terrell, CB, Clemson: One more first-round option at cornerback is Terrell. At 5-foot-11, 180 pounds, he doesn’t have the classic outside frame of Delane or Mc Coy, but he has experience playing there and brings a great athletic profile with the bloodlines of his brother, Atlanta Falcons cornerback A. J. Terrell. Avieon Terrell is trying to become the second cornerback from his family to be drafted in the first round. His best fit is likely in rotation from outside to inside, which would need to align well with Lake’s strong play in the slot. That could work if Curl leaves and the door opens for Lake to play more at strong safety, like a nickel on the opposite side of Terrell. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle Nate Atkins is a Senior Writer for The Athletic covering the Los Angeles Rams. Prior to joining The Athletic, he covered the Indianapolis Colts for the Indianapolis Star, the Detroit Lions for MLive Media Group and the Chicago Bears for Pro Football Weekly. A graduate of the University of Missouri, he was recognized as one of the nation's top-10 beat reporters by the Associated Press Sports Editors in 2023 and 2024, including a No. 1 overall finish in 2023. He grew up in Northeast Ohio, just 50 miles away from Le Bron James.