How the Rams make sure rookies bond to start pro careers

Los Angeles Times

a day ago

Josaiah Stewart quickly studied the assignment, focused intensely, and went to work.
The Rams linebacker delicately gripped a paintbrush, dipped it into a cup of green paint, and began filling the outline of a bird traced onto a wall of an Altadena school rebounding from the Eaton fire.
A few feet away, Rams tight end Terrance Ferguson and defensive lineman Ty Hamilton maneuvered their huge frames to add their own artistic touches to the hallway mural.
It was the latest rookie bonding experience for the 2025 draft class, a six-player group that includes several expected to play prominent roles for a team regarded as a Super Bowl contender.
'We've got a great group,' said Ferguson, a second-round pick. 'All the guys have bought into a lot of rookie bonding stuff by the team.
'It's cool that they really lean into building that relationship. … We're all going through this for the first time, transitioning to the NFL, so it's been a lot of fun.'
Ferguson is regarded as the heir apparent to veteran Tyler Higbee, who is in the final year of his contract. Yet the dynamic Ferguson, a former Oregon star, won't have to wait until 2026: He appears on track to have a large role in coach Sean McVay's offense.
Stewart, a third-round pick from Michigan, adds another dimension to an edge-rushing group that features NFL defensive rookie of the year Jared Verse and Byron Young.
Running back Jarquez Hunter, a fourth-round pick from Auburn, is competing to back up Kyren Williams, who is in the final year of his rookie contract.
Hamilton, from Ohio State, adds depth to a defensive line led by Kobie Turner and Braden Fiske, while fellow fifth-round pick Pooh Paul from Mississippi does the same for an inside linebacker corps that features Omar Speights and Nathan Landman.
Receiver Konata Mumpfield, a seventh-round pick from Pittsburgh, is learning from Davante Adams, Puka Nacua, Tutu Atwell and Jordan Whittington.
Several rookies said veteran players have welcomed and embraced them, helping them absorb the playbook and all that is expected of them on the field.
Assistant head coach Aubrey Pleasant has helped oversee the rookies' collective transition to becoming pros, McVay said.
'We've really tried to lean into the types of people where there's different personalities, but there's still our core values or experiences that these guys have gone through that have tested their mental fortitude, their resilience,' McVay said, adding, 'The most important thing is as a team, how do we come together? How do we really lean on one another? But when you are going through a similar experience, it's been fun to be able to watch those guys mature and be able to grow together.'
The rookies have bonded on the field during organized team activities, and off the field on excursions for meals, movies and places such as an escape room. The community events play a large role, Paul said.
'This is something I personally enjoy doing with the rookies simply because it really just shows, like, what we stand for outside the shoulder pads,' Paul said during a break from painting in Altadena. 'We've been doing a great job with that, bonding with each other, getting to know each other's backgrounds, where we come from, our collegiate careers and what helped us get to where we are today.'
Organized team activities conclude this week, but the rookies will be together again next week when the Rams travel to Maui for a minicamp.
On Tuesday, the six draft picks and other first-year players that signed as undrafted free agents will join Habitat for Humanity to rebuild homes in Lahaina that were damaged in 2023 wildfires.
It will be another opportunity to work side-by-side, as they did in Altadena.
'It's a tight group,' Stewart said after finishing his painting in Altadena. 'We all bond, and events like these really bring us together.'