The Los Angeles Rams managed to make the biggest splash of any team this offseason with their star-studded additions. However, their linebacker corps took perhaps the biggest hit with the departure of Robert Quinn and Alec Ogletree.
Los Angeles is now left with only one starter from last year’s group in Mark Barron. According to Cameron DaSilva of the Rams Wire, head coach Sean McVay indicated that the Rams will lean on some of their young guys from the 2017 campaign:
“I think when you look at the four veterans specific to the inside linebacker position, guys that have had production in this league,” McVay said. “You look at Mark Barron, you look at Cory Littleton when he got an opportunity to start in place of Mark last year, how great he played against Tennessee. Bryce Hager stepped in when [Alec Ogletree] got hurt in the Arizona game. And then Ramik Wilson is a guy that’s played a lot of good football for a great defense in Kansas City the last handful of years.”
It is encouraging to see McVay have such faith in last year’s backups despite their little playing time. It is indicative of how much confidence he has not just in their development but the coaching staff as well. Aside from Littleton and Hager, Samson Ebukam got a healthy dose of action as well with 31 tackles, 2.0 sacks, and a forced fumble last season.
The Rams also managed to further address this group through the 2018 NFL Draft. They added the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year in Ogbonnia Okoronkwo along with former Virginia product Micah Kiser, who racked up over 400 tackles in college.
Fortunately, defensive coordinator Wade Phillips will have the luxury of alleviating the pressure from his start studded groups up front and in the secondary. The Rams managed to fortify the defense with the signing of defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh and a couple of All-Pro cornerbacks in Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib.
