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LA Rams News: Defensive linemen competition heated
The LA Rams hottest roster battles for the 2020 NFL season will likely occur at the defensive line, where 12 players battle for six spots.
ramblinfan.com
The LA Rams currently are fairly certain that Andrew Whitworth will start at the left offensive tackle, and Aaron Donald will start wherever he wants to on the defensive line. Beyond that, uncertainty begins to creep in. In a normal year, that uncertainty gathers amidst fans like dew on the blades of grass, waiting for OTAs and spring training to rapidly burn off the questions and focus the team’s hierarchy into the consensus depth chart long before the first snap of a preseason game.
But 2020 is not a typical season. The dawn of training camp and OTA’s will not shine for fans anytime soon. There is no visual evidence of which teams practice with the first string. So questions and uncertainty will linger longer than usual. That means that the tiering of NFL rosters will not be as cut-and-dry as it has been in the past. In a normal season, we would see the visual evidence of who was lining up as starters, and who was lining up as the third or fourth string and could form our own conclusions.
Virtual questions quarantined answers
2020 is different in so many ways. Coaches are meeting with players in a virtual format where plays are diagnosed and discussed. Afterward, players are sent back to their own resources with an honors system that they are following a healthy diet, are hydrating properly, are getting sufficient quality sleep, and are exercising and strength training properly. Most are doing exactly that, but some may cut corners.
If the season began today, the LA Rams starting three would most certainly be Aaron Donald, A’Shawn Robinson, and Michael Brockers backed up by Sebastian Joseph Day, Greg Gaines, and Morgan Fox. That is merely the like top six for the group. In 2019, The Rams only carried six defensive linemen on the 53-man roster. Will the 2020 makeup differ, as the defense under new defensive coordinator Brandon Staley will emphasize a more rapid rotation?
Fighting for roster roles
Twelve to six is certainly not very good odds for a player, particularly when three such roles are certain assignments. Eventually, all the players on the roster will gather and begin actual hands-on practices. At that point in time, we’ll begin to form a picture of who will be the Rams starters, and who will likely be making up supporting roles.
After all, the Rams signed defensive lineman A’Shawn Robinson after it appeared that Rams veteran Michael Brockers would sign elsewhere. When the Rams re-signed Brockers, that inadvertently bumped 2019 starter Sebastian Joseph Day down in the rotation. Meanwhile, young Greg Gaines, patiently awaiting his opportunity to add his run defense skills to the LA Rams defensive line, must place his own hopes for promotion on hold.
Sorting it all out
Of all the positions at or near the line of scrimmage, the defensive line seems to be the easiest to sort out. That is until you dive into the players who have been added to the defensive front. On paper, it’s a three-man front. That base 3-4 defense is the basic framework for the team’s structure. But the team has twelve competitors in the mix for those three spots, six of whom were on the Rams’ roster last season. They are joined by free agent A’Shawn Robinson, and five players added after the 2020 NFL Draft: Michael Hoecht, Sam Renner, Greg Reaves, Eric Banks, and Jonah Williams.
Of the group signed after the NFL Draft, Hoecht, Banks, Williams, and Renner are most likely defensive linemen. All are 6-foot-4 or taller, and tip the scales at over 270 pounds. Only Greg Reaves is a hybrid 6-foot-2, 241-pound defensive end/outside linebacker hybrid who could play as an OLB for the Rams defense for better odds of making the roster.
Competition for DL starts with special teams
The key to the defense’s success must be stopping the run in 2020. To do that, the team must be better than the 2019 version. That means that the Rams’ defensive line must be better, which opens the door for competition. While the team did not address the position in the draft, the addition of five players signed immediately after the 2020 NFL Draft suggests that the team is open to adding new faces to the roster this season.
Most of those additions need to excel on special teams. That is the primary route for rookies to stick on the team’s roster, and the LA Rams are most certainly interested in improving special teams play in 2020. Defensive linemen have a solid shot at making a special teams impact because they have the size to serve as temporary blockers while excelling at tackling in coverage. Covering punts and kickoffs can prove to be a distinct advantage in determining who makes final cuts for the team.
How many defensive linemen are the right number?
If the LA Rams were looking into a two or three defensive linemen front on plays, then six is a good number to carry into the 2020 season. But that’s a big IF, as the team will likely have some four, five, or even six defensive linemen packages in short-yardage and goal-line situations. Those defensive stands are best made by flooding the field with defensive linemen, as many as five or six, and forcing offenses to go big.
The LA Rams have six players who could start now. But if they add a new face, do they carry an extra defensive lineman, or do the Rams bump a veteran to the waiver wire? Perhaps they add two new faces, will that bump a returning veteran? Does improving the defense mean counting on improvements from returning players or swapping out new players with higher ceilings? By the time the LA Rams must make the roster cuts, they’ll need to have the answers to those questions. Until then, the competition will be fierce. What emerges from this competition will hopefully be a much more prepared defensive front.
