Going Over the Rams’ Special Teams in 2025

I've done overviews of the Los Angeles Rams offense and defense, going over both sides of the ball and how they will be better in 2025. An often overlooked aspect of any NFL team, not just the Rams, is their special teams unit.

Before looking at the team as a whole and moving on to their coaching staff for the 2025 season, it's important to take a look at their special teams and talk about the players who often don't get much attention.

Starting with their place kicker, Joshua Karty. They drafted him in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL draft class, and he's been a revelation for them, being accurate for his entire rookie season and making clutch kicks.

He only missed a handful of field goals in the regular season, and he made 32 of his 36 attempted extra points. He was kicking the ball with 85.3 percent of accuracy, and that number only jumped in the postseason. Granted, his longest kick in the playoffs was for 44 yards, but he didn't miss any of his kicks after the regular season ended, which is impressive for a rookie.

He'll be 24 years old by next season, and if he can follow his Rams debut with another incredible year kicking the ball, I do not doubt in my mind that the Rams will wanna keep him around for a while. There's no better feeling for Sean McVay than not having to worry about the small stuff, like making a field goal or extra points.

Next up is Ethan Evans, their starting punter and another young player, having been drafted in the seventh round of the 2023 NFL draft. I think it's a good sign that the Rams have such young players involved in their special teams, and they have full confidence in them.

Evans may have punted less in 2024, but his punts were better than they were in his rookie season. His net average yards per punt went from 38.5 to 41.7, and an NFL team, especially one with an offense as loaded as the Rams do, never wanna punt the ball. However, if they have to, it helps to have someone who can boot it across the field, and Evans has shown he's more than capable of that.

Their punt returners and kick returners are Xavier Smith and Jordan Whittington, respectively. They're both quick, with Whittington having more upside as a receiver in their offense, and Smith doing a lot of damage in either punt or kick returning.

Finally, Alex Ward is their long snapper and has been since 2023. They picked him up as an undrafted free agent, and he has been consistent with the team ever since. Overall, the amount of youth in their special teams is promising for the future, and if they continue to develop and gel together, it'll make the Rams that much better moving forward.