The Los Angeles Rams did not have a first-round draft pick in 2020, but they added a variety of young, talented players to their organization that will hopefully be able to replenish the talent they lost in free agency this offseason.
One of those players is edge rusher Terrell Lewis, who they drafted in the third round out of Alabama. After losing both Dante Fowler Jr. and Clay Matthews, getting someone to put pressure on the quarterback was essential and they may have gotten just that in Lewis.
Lewis dealt with a number of injuries during his time at Alabama, including a torn ACL that cost him a full season in 2018. He returned in 2019 though and finished with 31 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, 6.0 sacks, 16 quarterback hurries, two pass breakups and one fumble recovery and was named second-team All-SEC.
If it weren’t for the injury concerns, Lewis could have been a first-round pick in 2020. He recently discussed how he feels playing at Alabama prepared him for the NFL, via Stu Jackson of TheRams.com:
“I think our daily process that we go through prepares us so well for the NFL, whether it just be studying and watching film, how to conduct yourself when it comes to preparation, weight room, balance as far as lifting and school, and things of that nature,” Lewis said on a video conference last week. “Just the terminology that we talk as far as just football wise, learning the X’s and O’s, and learning the situational part of football and schemes and coverages and different things that go into just everything that a coach, and especially what NFL coach, thinks about, we dissect it from a player’s perspective.”
It seems that Lewis will be playing with a chip on his shoulder after slipping all the way to the third round as he recently said he plans to make every other team pay for making him wait.
Having veterans like Aaron Donald and Michael Brockers should only be a big benefit to Lewis during his rookie season, and hopefully he can display why those other teams made a mistake by passing on him.
