Although the Los Angeles Rams may have been a bit overly-patient in the 2019 NFL Draft, head coach Sean McVay is happy that they were able to make a splash with the addition of Washington defensive tackle Greg Gaines.
The Rams pulled off multiple trades on draft day to move back and stock up on picks. They then decided to reverse course by moving up in the fourth round to take Gaines at No. 134.
The expected departure of Ndamukong Suh left a notable void up front on defense. McVay indicates that Gaines will have every opportunity to etch out a role this offseason.
According to Myles Simmons of the team’s official website, he has high hopes for the rookie in the 2019 NFL season:
“Some of the things we talked about — how we get better specific to our scheme, but then also defensively in terms of playing the run a little bit better, I think that’ll be a key factor for really being stout inside,” McVay said. “And we feel like Greg will provide that.”
“When you look at a Greg Gaines, you can really take a specific approach where as a nose in our base defensive package, here’s the skill set he provides, and here’s why they thought of him so highly with our scouting staff,” McVay later added. “And then when you bring him [to the coaches], we feel like we see the same things.”
It is not often that a fourth-rounder is expected to come in and make an immediate impact. This just goes to show how highly McVay and the rest of the staff feel about Gaines’ potential, which could be why they felt the need to move up.
It is no secret that the Rams are in desperate need of shoring up their run defense before the start of the 2019 campaign. If Gaines can prove to be a viable stalwart up front then it could pay huge dividends for Aaron Donald and the rest of the defensive line moving forward.
