Time is of the essence for 2025 MVP Matthew Stafford. The Rams add another flyer to his arsenal.

Is Terrell a nickelback-only at the next level? Can he also play outside? I see a complete corner who can cover and is willing to tackle, as well.

The Rams' biggest need by far this offseason is outside cornerback, and it might be one they address in free agency or a trade. Rather than force the position right after the top two options went off the board, the Rams instead pivot to an underrated need at the third wide receiver spot. With Puka Nacua and Davante Adams in high-volume roles, the Rams must find better insurance for those engines than they had last season. Unlike Tutu Atwell, Lemon can find his way onto the field because he's extremely physical and a strong blocker, which matters so much to Sean McVay. Lemon took his game to another level last season with 1,156 yards and 11 touchdowns. He's a perfect future Adams replacement who can duplicate enough of Nacua to manage his snap share and volume load, too.

The Rams avoided the urge to fill their biggest need when the board didn't line up at No. 13, but it falls into place here. Hood is a force in press-man and contested catch-and-run defense settings, bringing a different flavor to what the Rams tried out at this spot last season in Emmanuel Forbes Jr. Los Angeles has a nice track record with draft acquisitions from Tennessee, including linebacker Byron Young and safety Jaylen McCollough. If Hood can be a CB2 from the jump, it could set the Rams and, notably, their pass rush up to take a leap on this side of the ball.

Jermod McCoy missed the 2025 season due to a torn ACL, which could ultimately lead to him going much later than this, but he was fantastic for Tennessee in 2024. He's a very good athlete who moves well and looks fluid in coverage. He's not a great tackler, which could also knock him down some boards, but I like the upside here.

Monroe Freeling doesn't have a wealth of experience, so there's a lot of projection here based on his length and athleticism. The combine could see him fly up boards or drop, depending on how he performs, but for the moment, this feels like a logical landing spot.

This still makes little sense to me. The Rams were four points from reaching the Super Bowl in February, losing to the Seahawks 31-27 in the NFC Championship Game. They won 12 games last season, and the offense looked unstoppable (outside of Seattle, at least). They brought back league MVP Matthew Stafford for at least one more season, and then they added cornerbacks Trent McDuffie (trade) and Jaylen Watson (free agency) to immediately fix their biggest issue. It was a clear all-in effort to go win another Super Bowl before life after Stafford set in.

I had wide receiver and right tackle as my top two needs for the Rams, and I saw addressing either position in a meaningful way in Round 1 as the potential topper on building a real no-joke contender. When Los Angeles got on the clock at No. 13, Monroe Freeling and Blake Miller were there. Makai Lemon, whom I projected to the Rams in my final mock draft, was still there. It was all lining up for coach Sean McVay and the Rams.

But then Los Angeles shocked everyone and took Ty Simpson. On one hand, smart front offices try to plan ahead, moving on future needs before they actually develop. Stafford is 38 years old, he has dealt with various injuries over the past few years, Stetson Bennett IV was the only other quarterback on the roster, and there was no plan of any sort for QB of the future. That's all valid. But taking Simpson here did not line up with the team's Super Bowl window and current trajectory. It did nothing to make the team better today.

And while Simpson is accurate, smart and mobile, there's really no guarantee this pick makes the team better tomorrow, either. He had just 15 career starts in college -- all in one season -- and he endured some rough patches. I saw him as a late-Round 1 target for a team with a much bigger QB need. Hopefully he can learn behind Stafford and become a legit starter for the Rams in a year or two, but this was probably the most confusing move of Day 1.

Max Klare was a slight reach on Day 2, but it was another spot where I thought Los Angeles could get that missing WR3 (and maybe future WR2 if Davante Adams isn't on the team in 2027 when his deal expires). Zachariah Branch would have been a jolt of lightning out of the slot. And because I have Keagen Trost kicking inside in the pros, the Rams went into Saturday without a single one of their top three needs accounted for. CJ Daniels caught seven touchdowns last season, but he isn't the WR3 I was hoping to see.

Their most notable accomplishments? Acquiring McDuffie for three 2026 picks, including No. 29 overall and a pair on Day 3. Also? Coach Sean McVay really, really, really appreciates QB Matthew Stafford, the league's 2025 MVP, and would never want him to think otherwise. Maybe first-round QB Ty Simpson, chosen 13th overall as Stafford's heir apparent — which may mean 2029? — and his four fellow draftees will all become key members of this operation. None are likely to do so in 2026, a year when the Rams are very much expected to be Super Bowl contenders ... even if they didn't get a rookie who might have put them over the top.