The highest-paid UDFA on the Rams is also a TE

The Los Angeles Rams already have the deepest tight end room in the NFL with five players who are a lock to make a 53-man roster, whether it’s L.A. or somewhere else, but it turns out that Sean McVay’s obsession with the position doesn’t stop there. As details emerged about the Rams’ undrafted signing bonuses on Sunday, it was revealed that tight end Dan Villari received $45,000 guaranteed, the most of any undrafted player on the team.

That’s three times as much as the second-highest paid undrafted player on the Rams in 2026, but also the second-most for any UDFA signed by the team ever, behind only Josh Wallace in 2024. Wallace made the Rams roster in each of the last two seasons, so does that mean the Rams are going to keep six tight ends?

Villari, 6’4 and 243 lbs, is called a “multi-purpose move tight end” by NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein, and a former quarterback who is only starting to come into his own as a skill player. Zierlein calls him a “dynamic” talent who can run, catch, and pass.

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Villari started his career at Michigan in 2021, but transferred to Syracuse in 2022. He actually had 326 RUSHING yards in 2023, but had his best season as a receiver in 2025 with 412 yards.

Zierlein notes that many of the fundamentals still elude Villari.

However, will a summer with Sean McVay and the best tight end room in the league be enough to get Villari up to speed for being a surprise name on the final 53-man roster after training camp?

The deepest TE room

The Rams extended Tyler Higbee and they drafted Max Klare in the second round. We know with 100-percent certainty that they will make the roster. The Rams also drafted Terrance Ferguson in the second round in 2025, making him a 99-percent lock. Colby Parkinson was the best tight end on L.A.’s roster last year, will Les Snead really trade him after the progress he made last season?

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That leaves Davis Allen, a 2027 free agent. But Allen also showed a lot of progress in 2025. Mark Redman and Rohan Jones, another UDFA, round out the room.

Could Villari be the one who pushes Allen onto the trade block? Anything is possible, within reason, but clearly the Rams did not want Dan Villari to sign with any other team in the NFL. If they were willing to give him that much money in April, why wouldn’t they keep fighting to keep him in September?

The deepest room got deeper.