The 2020 NFL Draft has passed and a new rookie class of players will look to make their mark whenever the 2020 NFL season begins.
For the Los Angeles Rams, they had several pressing needs after seeing key players on both sides of the field leave this offseason. The team’s pass rush arsenal was bare after the departure of Dante Fowler Jr. and the release of Clay Matthews, but the Rams found a possible solution in Alabama edge rusher Terrell Lewis.
When speaking about contributing to the defense, Lewis admitted that he has no issues with the challenge and is looking forward to learning from his new teammates, via Stu Jackson of TheRams.com:
“(Replacing Fowler is) definitely something you’ve got to live up to, but I don’t have no problem with that,” Lewis said. “I think, if anything, I’m just excited about the fact that I’m going to be a Ram, get to play along guys like (CB) Jalen Ramsey and (DT) Aaron Donald and guys like that and get in where I fit in and contribute as much as possible.”
Lewis also expressed his excitement to prove the other teams who passed on him wrong:
“I’m in an organization and just getting off the phone with the Rams, they told me how much they believe in me and my abilities,” Lewis said. “They can’t wait to display it to every other team that passed up on me and I can’t wait either. Just ready to get to work and make everybody else pay for the wait that they made me wait.”
There is no question that Lewis is a talented pass rusher given his length, speed, and athleticism, but arm and leg injuries greatly hurt his draft stock and the main cause for his slide. However, Los Angeles made a wise gamble on Lewis as he was productive last season for Alabama and is only scratching the surface of what he can be.
The Rams signed Leonard Floyd in the offseason and have incumbent outside linebackers like Samson Ebukam and Ogbo Okoronkwo, but Lewis has a good chance to crack the rotation in his rookie year. Floyd is a former first-round pick who has not quite panned out the way he was projected while Ebukam and Okoronkwo are still unproven as weapons off the edge.
Grabbing a talent like Lewis in the third round should be considered a win and hopefully he proves he was worth the selection once the season kicks off.
