LOS ANGELES — Josaiah Stewart had given himself a little separation from the celebration going on in his family home. Tucked into an empty closet, speaking with reporters over Zoom, a little bit of time between the phone call that made him a Ram and this conference call.
But the emotions still came pouring out.
“I just couldn’t hold it in. Even right now, I’m just thinking back on it, everything that went into this moment,” Stewart said, dragging his hands across his face, “all the people that was here supporting me and just hearing them and how proud they were of me. Everything I do this for, they were all there. I’m just glad it all worked out and I’m just happy to be a [expletive] Ram. Let’s do it.”
With two picks to play with on the second day of the NFL draft and no glaring needs to address, the Rams could afford to take players who provide depth and optionality, while also adding to the team’s culture. And that’s what they feel they did by selecting Oregon tight end Terrance Ferguson with the 46th overall pick in the second round and Michigan edge rusher Stewart with the 90th overall selection in Round 3.
Neither position screamed need for the Rams. Veteran tight end Tyler Higbee is back after a strong finish to 2024. The Rams have loaded up on pass rushers in each of the last two drafts.
But the Rams saw two players who fit into their locker room. Ferguson is someone who overcame childhood adversity, not to mention an emergency appendectomy as a senior at Oregon. He was able to return following the surgery after missing just two games.
“I think No. 1 when you hear the backstory, a guy that’s overcome some adversity, special human,” Rams head coach Sean McVay said. “What he’s done, what he’s about, his play energy, his tape talks to you in a way that’s reflective of what we feel like looks like a Ram.”
And Stewart’s backstory fits exactly into the same mold as the rest of the Rams’ pass rush – starting out at Group of Five program Coastal Carolina, where he was a freshman All-American with 12½ sacks before transferring to powerhouse Michigan and totaling 14 sacks in two seasons.
“It worked the last few times we’ve done that,” General Manager Les Snead joked. “He’s one of those guys that if you’re watching a game on Saturday, just on your television … you’re like, ‘Who’s five?’”
The Rams like the change of pace that each player brings to their position groups. At 6-foot-5, Ferguson gives the Rams a red-zone threat who was among the best in college football at yards after the catch. Stewart is shorter than you would expect for an edge rusher at 6-1, but Snead said that will keep offensive lines guessing as the Rams cycle through Stewart, Jared Verse and Byron Young.
But both oozed energy in their Zoom calls with reporters on Friday night. Stewart couldn’t wait to get his questions going, while Ferguson used the term “super excited” six times during his press conference. Although, to be fair, twice he used it in reference to his younger brother being a lifelong Detroit Lions fan ecstatic that Ferguson would be playing with Matthew Stafford.
But they both also spoke about trying to fit in to their rooms with veterans ahead of them on the depth chart.
“Just being able to learn from those guys I think is one of the biggest things for me,” Ferguson said. “I love to sit behind people and learn and push people.”
“Coming into Michigan and being a role player and being a rotational guy, it taught me a lot. It taught me what it means to win and what you gotta do to play your role and win,” Stewart said. “And man, I’m all about winning so I’ll do whatever it takes.”
And that’s what the Rams hope the pair will do, help them win on the field and in the locker room.
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