Les Snead and Sean McVay are gearing up for what is undoubtedly one of the most important weeks of the year. The 2026 NFL Draft kicks off on Thursday night and leading up to the main event, the Rams general manager and head coach held a pre-draft press conference to address the latest topics surrounding the team.
It wasn't all draft-focused, with Snead and McVay talking about Puka Nacua's outlook, Jimmy Garoppolo's potential retirement and the overall state of the roster. Here are eight things we learned from Snead and McVay's comments.
McVay shared an update on Nacua, who checked into rehab earlier this offseason. He says the receiver is "doing really well" and "looks great," confirming that he'll be a full participant in the offseason program. Nacua was present for the start of the program on Monday and will remain in attendance moving forward.
“He'll be a full participant. It’s great to be able to see him. He looks great. He's doingreally well," McVay said.
McVay declined to share what his conversations with Nacua have been like, saying, “I'll keep those between us, but he and I have a great relationship. I feel really good about the direction that we're going.”
The Rams could be out of another backup QB option after a report surfaced that Jimmy Garoppolo is considering retirement. McVay said he's had some "good dialogue" with Garoppolo about his plans but the Rams aren't putting a timeline on his situation.
Heading into the draft, the Rams are "definitely monitoring" the quarterback situation, though Garoppolo is still their top priority at backup QB.
“We're definitely monitoring," Snead said. "Jimmy's always been priority number one for the backup, so we're letting him go through his process."
The starting offensive line looks strong as of now, but depth is a little bit of a concern, especially not having a quality swing tackle behind Alaric Jackson and Warren McClendon Jr. Still, McVay feels good about the depth Los Angeles has, citing players who have taken a lot of snaps for the Rams over the years.
“I feel good. I think we've got a lot of guys that have played," McVay said. "I think you need eight or nine guys, sometimes 10 when you look at getting through a year. We've got a lot of guys that have played a lot of football. It was good to get David Quessenberry back as your third tackle. We feel good about the interior depth that we have. A lot of guys have played meaningful football for us on our roster.”
Snead was asked specifically about Makai Lemon, who went to USC – the same school Snead has two kids at. Snead attended USC's pro day and watched Lemon work out, once again sharing some high praise for the receiver leading up to the draft.
“He’s a fun player to watch being right here," Snead said. "I have a daughter at USC. I have a son that's – I've lived and died some Trojan football. I can say this, as a fan and as a father with two kids there, it was fun when you saw the ball go up and it was heading toward Lemon's hands, you always felt like he'd bring it down.”
Lemon is a popular pick for the Rams in mock drafts and is a real option at No. 13 overall.
Though it doesn't sound like the Rams view Bennett as a potential successor to Stafford, they're also not ruling him out as the No. 2 quarterback in 2026. McVay said flatly that he considers Bennett "a backup" and added that the former Georgia signal caller has gotten "better and better" over the years.
McVay says the Rams wouldn't be afraid of making Bennett their QB2, assuming they're unable to bring Garoppolo back as a free agent.
“I think Stetson is considered a backup," McVay said. "We drafted him a handful of years ago. We've just been really fortunate and I think Stetson's gotten better and better. I think Dave Ragone has done a great job with him. Certainly, you monitor all of those things. The thing I think we felt really fortunate about, specifically as it relates to Jimmy, is I've always told you guys, Jimmy's a starting quarterback. That didn't go lost on us with how much value he provided in Matthew's absence. Nothing's like Matthew, but you didn't feel like our defense or the other 10 guys on offense fell off too much relative to what the level of performance or the level of operation is. I think Stetson's capable of that. He showed that last training camp and in the preseason. All of those things are things that we monitor and you do feel good about that. Stetson was the backup, if you guys remember the first couple games, Jimmy's first year with us, because he was not available. That wouldn't be something that we'd be afraid of.”
The secondary has been a big focus of the Rams in the last four months. They extended Quentin Lake, acquired Trent McDuffie in a trade, brought in Jaylen Watson as a free agent and re-signed Kam Curl.
As deep as the secondary is now, the Rams are always looking for ways to get better in the defensive backfield. McVay said that although he feels good about the secondary right now, he also believes the Rams can never have enough talent and depth there.
"I think you feel good about it, but we're always looking to add," he said. "When you look at it, I've mentioned it with the offensive line, a lot of guys are playing in the secondary. You hopefully stay as healthy as possible. I feel good about adding the two corners. We lost a lot of guys in free agency based on contract situations. Being able to re-sign Kam Curl was a big deal for us. When you look at it, re-signing Kam Curl, getting Quentin Lake's contract done in the middle of the year and then being able to add Jaylen and Trent is big. We have Emmanuel Forbes and you have Josh Wallace in that corner room. Both those guys have played meaningful football. ‘Kitch’ (Kamren Kinchens) has played a lot of ball as has (Jaylen) ‘Tank’ McCullough from the safety spot. You feel good, but you can never have enough depth at those important spots.”
When speaking about what McDuffie and Watson bring to the Rams defense, McVay didn't just mention their coverage skills. He raved about their toughness and physicality. The Rams have made a concerted effort to ramp up the overall toughness of their roster, because "if you're not tough, you won't play for us," McVay says.