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7 Rams standouts from first week of padded practices
The Rams wrapped up their third of 14 padded practices on Friday, their last session before Saturday night’s scrimmage at SoFi Stadium. The team has to take advantage of every practice it can…
theramswire.usatoday.com
The Rams wrapped up their third of 14 padded practices on Friday, their last session before Saturday night’s scrimmage at SoFi Stadium. The team has to take advantage of every practice it can get because of how limited the offseason work has been, and it seems to be doing just that.
To put a bow on the first week of padded practices, we selected seven standouts for the Rams – led by a bunch of impressive rookies who have stepped up in a big way.
1 S Jordan Fuller
Fuller is only a sixth-round pick but he’s not playing like one in practice. The rookie safety has made a strong first impression on the coaches and his teammates, with Sean McVay specifically name-dropping him for the plays he’s made on the field.
“You know, I’ve been really impressed with all these guys, but those two young safeties, when you look at (Terrell) Burgess and Fuller have really been standouts the last couple of days,” McVay said.
He picked off three passes in the first week of padded practices and on Friday alone, he made two huge plays on defense. He has a legitimate chance to contribute at some point this season behind John Johnson and Taylor Rapp.
View: https://twitter.com/gregbeacham/status/1296859517079023616?s=21
2 WR Van Jefferson
Jefferson has also caught the eye of McVay early in camp for his strong hands, route running and physical play in practice. He caught a nice touchdown pass from John Wolford in the end zone, coming down in bounds with good awareness.
View: https://twitter.com/ramsnfl/status/1295511084267266051?s=21
Jared Goff loves the way he’s played so far, too, saying Jefferson reminds him of Cooper Kupp’s rookie year in 2017, getting up to speed quicker than expected.
“Van has been really good, man. He’s been really good. I say that cautiously because you never want these young guys to get too far ahead of themselves,” Goff said. “But he’s been really impressive and done a good job. It reminds me a lot of when Cooper was a rookie, and he was just so far ahead of where a rookie kind of should be.”
3 OLB Terrell Lewis
Lewis just looks different than most rookies. He’s tall, long, fast and powerful, which is a deadly combination for an edge rusher. Michael Brockers even thought the Rams brought him in to take his job at first before realizing he was a linebacker.
Lewis dominated individual pass-rush drills against Bobby Evans on Wednesday, showing off his power and speed on the edge.
View: https://twitter.com/camdasilva/status/1296134595902136320?s=21
4 S Terrell Burgess
Burgess is right there with Fuller as a standout in the secondary, showing good range and versatility on the back end. He too has picked off at least one pass in practice thus far, which McVay recognized his hands for.
“He’s done a really good job. Smart player, great athleticism for a safety,” McVay said. “He has some flexibility to be able to play at the nickel position at the star for us. Really, very conscientious, made some big plays. When he gets his hands on the ball, he’s catching it. That’s one of the things I’ve been really impressed with. Our DB group as a whole, if they’ve gotten their hands on the ball, they’ve pretty much caught it.”
Burgess has to earn a role as a rookie, but he’s off to a good start, especially with the increased opportunities due to Taylor Rapp’s injury.
5 LG Joseph Noteboom
Noteboom is coming off a knee injury suffered last season but he appears to be 100% healthy – or at least healthy enough to participate in all aspects of camp. He’s grabbed hold of the starting left guard spot, which wasn’t expected after Austin Corbett and David Edwards were originally with the first-team offense to start “Hard Knocks.”
McVay has been impressed with Noteboom’s play thus far, highlighting his performance in practice.
“I’ve been particularly impressed with Austin Corbett and Joe Noteboom,” McVay said. “Joe was really playing good football before he ended up getting injured against the Niners early on in the (2019) season. I think he picked up where he left off. Looks very comfortable, looks healthy, looks explosive and strong.”
6 RG Austin Corbett
Corbett has shifted to right guard with Noteboom on the left side and hasn’t missed a beat. Like Noteboom, Corbett also received some nice compliments from McVay for how he has stepped up in practice.
McVay said Corbett has “done a really nice job,” and “really has some position flexibility” – a valuable trait for an interior offensive lineman. At this point, it seems Corbett will be one of the starting guards, depending on whether the Rams go with Edwards or Noteboom at the other spot.
7 WR Nsimba Webster
Webster’s roster spot will most likely be tied to his return ability, but he’s impressing on offense in practice, which will only help his stock. He caught two touchdown passes from John Wolford on Wednesday and continued his strong week with a good finish on Friday.
View: https://twitter.com/jb_long/status/1296143159609528320?s=21
Webster is buried on the wide receiver depth chart behind the top four pass-catchers, but anything he can do on offense will help his chances of making the team as a return specialist.
