INGLEWOOD — The Rams made an addition to their receiver room to open Day 3 of the NFL draft, trading up 10 spots in the sixth round to select Miami receiver CJ Daniels with the 197th overall pick.
Daniels spent six seasons in college across Liberty, LSU and Miami. He had a 1,000-yard, 10-touchdown season in his final year at Liberty in 2023, then caught 50 passes for 557 yards and seven touchdowns in 2025 with Miami.
The 6-foot-2 Daniels doesn’t have great speed, but is a physical player who is strong at the point of the catch. He will be the sixth receiver in a talented room headlined by Davante Adams and Puka Nacua.
“Davante is someone that I’ve always looked up to. He’s a guy that I’ve always tried to model my game after my releases, just how he plays the game of football,” Daniels said. “[Head coach Sean McVay] told me basically, ‘Man, you’re a guy that we’ve been looking at for a while.’ I’m a guy that could definitely help that receiver room.”
The Rams traded picks to Nos. 207, 251 and 252 to the Philadelphia Eagles in order to move up to No. 197 and take Daniels, who met with assistant general manager John McKay earlier this month.
The trade left the Rams with one pick left in the draft, at No. 232 overall in the seventh round, a pick the team used on Alabama defensive tackle Tim Keenan III. The 6-foot-2, 320-pound Keenan had two sacks and 16 tackles in 2025.
“That’s a team of killers over there,” Keenan said of joining the Rams’ defensive front. “So I’m just trying to make sure I’m doing what I need to do to help that that squad.”
Keenan rounded out the five-man class including Daniels, QB Ty Simpson, TE Max Klare and OL Keagen Trost, the smallest class in Rams history.
For his part, Keenan was excited to be reunited with Simpson after spending four years together at Alabama.
“Ty, that’s my dog. So for us to be reunited in LA, it’s a fairy tale come true,” Keenan said. “Tell my buddy, I love him and I can’t wait to see him. I’m coming to his house too because you know he a quarterback and everything, so I know he got some good stuff.”
Finding Ty Simpson
Simpson may have become a Ram on Thursday with the team’s first-round pick, but the franchise’s due diligence on the Alabama quarterback started last summer when he was a participant at the Manning Passing Academy, attended by Rams general manager Les Snead.
That was the beginning of a year-long process in which the Rams determined that Simpson would be a good fit working alongside McVay, director of scouting Nicole Blake said Saturday.
“You have to be smart to play here,” Blake said of the fit. “You can tell just watching the film that he knows how to play the position. Super smart quarterback, obviously grew up with a dad as a coach, so he’s lived and breathed it for his entire life and it’s a rare trait in a guy who has played a year really of college football to to find that.”
That small sample size was something many hung on during the pre-draft process, given Simpson sat for three years at Alabama before starting 15 games in 2025.
But assistant general manager John McKay said the Rams didn’t see that as an issue. The starts came against a high-level SEC schedule, and Simpson made enough of a variety of throws that the Rams had a good feel for his skillset.
“I know that’s something that a lot of people weigh differently, but for us that wasn’t a big hold up,” McKay said. “We felt confident based on what he had put on tape that he was the right guy.”
For McKay, one moment that stood out in the evaluation was watching Simpson’s performance against Auburn. The QB only completed 54.3% of his passes in that game and threw for 122 yards while taking three sacks.
But he did complete three touchdown passes, and found ways to grind out a win even when the offense wasn’t operating at its highest level.
“That’s incredible that he got them across the line,” McKay recalled thinking. “Like you see him process, be able to read one, two, three, hitting backside throws, things that we have a big appreciation for in our offense … but that Auburn game specifically is one that I’ve always hung on where I was like, wow, that is that is a really cool performance.”