Turf Show Times
Will Rams tap into the QB pipeline next year and if so, who is even worth it?
In their first two games of the 2025 season, the L.A. Rams will face off against quarterbacks who had very different paths to the NFL: One the expected way and one the “new” way.
In Week 1, the Rams face the Houston Texans and C.J. Stroud, a former five-star recruit who went to Ohio State out of high school, waited a year, took over the job for the next two seasons, and entered the NFL Draft as a top prospect.
In Week 2, the Rams face the Tennessee Titans and expected starting rookie Cam Ward, the number one pick of the draft. But unlike Stroud, Ward had no stars coming out of high school, started his career at Incarnate Word, then transferred to Washington State, and then after two seasons there transferred to Miami in 2024.
It took Ward not one but two transfers to become a notable NFL Draft prospect and he was only able to do that because of the relatively new transfer portal.
Players like Ward can attest to the potential benefits of the portal, as well as the opportunities to leave one school for another to chase a large NIL deal that can pay six or seven-figures, as he parlayed his success at two schools into enough development to become a Heisman candidate and the number one pick in the draft.
However, Cam Ward is much more of an exception than a rule.
If the Rams choose to draft a quarterback in the first round of the 2026 draft as a successor to Matthew Stafford, the question right now isn’t “Who will they pick?”
It’s more like, “Who the hell will be worth picking?”
The pipeline from high school to the NFL might still work in some cases, but it is broken for most.
Arch Manning was the top recruit in the 2023 high school class, and he remains atop those quarterback prospects two years later. But that’s really just damning of the rest of his class, not necessarily in praise of a quarterback who is largely still admired simply because he Manning hasn’t had the CHANCE to fail yet.
Manning has only thrown 95 pass attempts at Texas over his first two seasons.
Those limited opportunities might still be impressive, but they are still limited.
As head coach Steve Sarkisian watched Quinn Ewers struggle in two huge losses late in the year (22-19 to Georgia in the SEC Championship and 28-14 to Ohio State in the CFP), Manning threw zero passes and had two carries for 13 yards.
If you had a mediocre starter and sophomore “Peyton Manning” on your bench in the final game of the season, would you keep him seated?
But let’s set Arch aside for now because at least he’s a presumed starter next season. Many of his 2023 class counterparts can’t say the same.
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