Early 2020 position outlook: Inside linebacker

[ROD-BOT]

Early 2020 position outlook: Inside linebacker

Much like the outside linebackers, the inside linebacker room figures to have plenty of healthy competition.

www.therams.com

Early 2020 position outlook: Inside linebacker

After examining the Rams' offense, defense and special teams following the 2020 NFL Draft, theRams.com will take a deeper look at each position group as we get closer to the upcoming season. The inside linebackers are up next.

Who's back

Travin Howard: Played in all 16 games last season, logging 19 total tackles and three pass breakups.

Micah Kiser: Initially ruled out indefinitely in early August due to a preseason pectoral injury against the Cowboys, he eventually landed on injured reserve in early September and missed the entire 2019 season.

Troy Reeder: One of three undrafted free agents to make the Rams' initial 53-man roster for 2019, he made 52 total tackles and had two fumble recoveries while playing in all 16 games (eight starts).

Kenny Young: Acquired in the midseason Marcus Peters trade with the Baltimore Ravens, Young made four tackles in the nine Rams games he appeared in.

Who's gone

Bryce Hager: A shoulder injury sustained in Week 6 limited the 2015 seventh-round pick to just five games last year. He became an unrestricted free agent at the start of the new league year after his one-year deal signed last offseason expired.

Cory Littleton: Parlayed a career- and team-high 124 total tackles last season – plus 3.5 sacks, nine pass breakups and two interceptions – into a lucrative three-year deal with the Las Vegas Raiders. He became an unrestricted free agent at the start of the new league year after his one-year tender signed last offseason expired.

Who's new

Daniel Bituli: The former Tennessee star was a second team All-SEC choice in 2019 who helped the Volunteers to their highest finish in total defense (23rd nationally) in a decade. He is also just the second player to lead Tennessee in tackles for three straight seasons. Bituli is listed as a generic linebacker on the Rams' roster, so this shouldn't be taken as an official declaration for the position he will play – he's only included with the inside linebackers because he started at middle linebacker during his senior season at Tennessee.

Bryan London II: A back-to-back first-team All-Sun Belt selection as a junior and senior, London made 459 total tackles in four seasons at Texas State to finish 20th on the FBS career list for that category. He was also a four-year starter for the Bobcats. Similar to Bituli, this shouldn't be taken as an official declaration for his position with the Rams – highlights showed him playing inside at Texas State, but he's listed as a generic linebacker.

Clay Johnston: One of the Rams' trio of seventh-round picks this year, Johnston produced 58 tackles, eight for loss, 2.5 sacks, one interception and five pass breakups despite suffering a season-ending knee injury that limited him to six games. It was good enough for second team All-Big 12 honors.

Christian Rozeboom: A consensus All-American as a senior in 2019, the South Dakota State product was also one of 26 finalists for the Buck Buchanan Award, which is given annually to the FCS' top defensive player. He led his team in tackles and earned first-team Missouri Valley Football Conference recognition in each of his four years, departing as the school's record-holder for career tackles with 475.

Key question(s)

Who replaces Littleton? The University of Washington product evolved from a special teams standout to a core member of the Rams' defense. He was especially valuable in coverage – his 82.2 coverage grade ranked ninth-highest at his position out of 179 linebackers evaluated by PFF last season.

Will we see more of Kenny Young? Primarily a special teams contributor when active, his speed – as seen below while with the Ravens – is one of his strongest attributes.


View: https://twitter.com/stujrams/status/1184238287033995264?s=21


What can Kiser provide at full strength? On the team's first unofficial depth chart for 2019, he was slated to start alongside Littleton at the other inside linebacker spot and replace Mark Barron prior to the season-ending pectoral injury. In that same June 2019 story, then-Rams defensive coordinator Wade Phillips indicated Kiser was ascending on a similar developmental path as Littleton.

 

[BonifayRam]

Some early Happy random thoughts on this LB'er article......

ILB'er Clay Johnston- would not surprise me to see him listed as PUP in TC & early preseason.

ILB'er Kenny Young- Release material.

ILB'er Travin Howard- Now entering his 3rd season as an undersized LB'er will surprise many & will start as the move position. His versatility to play both LB'er & safety will be utilized fully.

MLB'er Micah Kiser- will have a ton of competition. Kiser will have to ball out in a serious hard fight to win a starting position. Long time Bear starter veteran Leonard Floyd who knows the Brandon Staley defense stands an excellent chance to play more @ MLB'er to direct & make the calls than Kiser IMO.

MLB Troy Reeder will not go away nor fade away.

ILB'er Natrez Patrick is a young smart perfect versatile LB'er for our new DC to enjoy finding ways to get him in action on defensive snaps.

MLB/ILB/OLB'er Daniel Bituli will bring & introduce the "HIT" that should come with tackles ........something we have not seen for long long time. Some of our young fans may have never seen Ram LB'ers display this skill.

 

[Memento]

Huge fan of Rozeboom. I think he makes the roster.

Howard will start and thrive; he reminds me a lot of Littleton.

I'd give Johnston time to heal before inserting him into the lineup.

Other than those three, it's completely up in the air for me. Kiser, Young, Reeder, and Patrick could all make the team or they could struggle to make it. I have no idea what to think of them.

 

[Merlin]

I just can't do this. I can't convince myself our merry band of low end draft picks and roster castoffs is full of diamonds in the rough. Maybe one of them can surprise and I am certainly hopeful of that. But looking at the list good grief.

Maybe I need some coffee...

 

[ausmurp]

I just can't do this. I can't convince myself our merry band of low end draft picks and roster castoffs is full of diamonds in the rough. Maybe one of them can surprise and I am certainly hopeful of that. But looking at the list good grief.

Maybe I need some coffee...

Agreed. What I saw last yr outside of Littleton at MLB was the worst depth I've ever seen at the position. It was so bad. There are literally FAs we could pay vet min for and start right away I'm sure.

I mean, correct me if I'm wrong but Mychal Kendricks is available and played very good for the Hags. Derron Lee (first rd bust but has to be better than what we have), Nigel Bradham...

 

[Memento]

I just can't do this. I can't convince myself our merry band of low end draft picks and roster castoffs is full of diamonds in the rough. Maybe one of them can surprise and I am certainly hopeful of that. But looking at the list good grief.

Maybe I need some coffee...

This is the reason I want Bolton out of Mizzou. He's a solid tackler, excellent in coverage, shoots gaps and gets tackles-for-a-loss, blitzes well, is instinctive, basically does everything well. He's the reason why we didn't miss Cale Garrett at middle linebacker.

 

[BonifayRam]

I just can't do this. I can't convince myself our merry band of low end draft picks and roster castoffs is full of diamonds in the rough. Maybe one of them can surprise and I am certainly hopeful of that. But looking at the list good grief.

Maybe I need some coffee...

If I could....... I have already sent you some of my good feeling confidence through the cyber space, sadly its just not set up to do that yet!

 

[Snaz]

This is the reason I want Bolton out of Mizzou. He's a solid tackler, excellent in coverage, shoots gaps and gets tackles-for-a-loss, blitzes well, is instinctive, basically does everything well. He's the reason why we didn't miss Cale Garrett at middle linebacker.

He's not int he NFL, still in college. Not to be a pain but how does this help 2020 Rams?

 

[Zaphod]

I just can't do this. I can't convince myself our merry band of low end draft picks and roster castoffs is full of diamonds in the rough. Maybe one of them can surprise and I am certainly hopeful of that. But looking at the list good grief.

Maybe I need some coffee...

I think the strategy is going to be more 2 gap to deemphasize the position or maybe rather limit the insane physical requirements to keep the faster ILBers/hybrid safeties out there longer in the interest of disguising your defense?

I don't know, I'm perhaps foolishly optimistic regarding the changes coming with our new defensive coordinator.

 

[Rams43]

Well, I’m not too worried, honestly.

We only need 2 to step up, and even then only when in base D. What’s that, maybe 25-30% of the snaps? The remaining 70% will be in nickel, dime, and other hybrid packages.

I like Kiser and I’m sure that Staley will come up with a 2nd LB from among that cast of candidates. I suspect that Staley kinda likes some of the vet ILB’s that were already here, plus he probably had a lot of input with the choices at LB brought in. ‘His’ kinda players?

 

[dang]

Bituli or Rozeboom answers the Bell for one of the positions. Patrick, Kiser answers the other. Will see other put situationally at ILB (e.g. Floyd or Obo??).

 

[Merlin]

I think the strategy is going to be more 2 gap to deemphasize the position or maybe rather limit the insane physical requirements to keep the faster ILBers/hybrid safeties out there longer in the interest of disguising your defense?

I don't know, I'm perhaps foolishly optimistic regarding the changes coming with our new defensive coordinator.

Fangio's defense definitely utilizes two-gap and more than most other modern DCs. Also they brought in Robinson for that reason, to give them more depth for being able to field a two-gap look when they really want to shut down a run game. So I think you're correct that we're going to see quite a bit of that.

If you look at Rams sites in general you see fans aligning behind this idea, however, that the scheme can somehow overcome our lack of talent at ILB. But the players do matter and it's important to remember that IMO. Even if they have the DL in front of them doing a good job of limiting second level blocks these guys are going to need to be able to stack and shed if we want to have a good run defense.

We might see one of these guys really step up. I'm hoping for that. Just not interested in talking them up like we have all these exciting options at ILB. Oh and btw the DC who had a history of finding diamonds and developing them at ILB was Wade (and he did a great job with Littleton). Staley is on the opposite end of that spectrum where he's had very high quality LBs in his short time in the league. So again one of them might step up sure but there is no track record to suggest it's likely in his charge.

I'm hopeful but not more than that basically.

 

[TheTackle]

Kiser is set to call the plays on Defense. It would take something spectacular to dislodge him from starting

 

[Ram65]

I thought the Rams would draft an ILBer. Wrong.

All we can do is take a guess at who will step up. As mentioned the Rams need two down players to cover the ILbers spot.

One spot looks like it's Kiser's job to lose. I think of him being slow but he isn't that slow with 4.66 40 yard dash with 10 yard split at 1.62 and 20 yard split at 2.71. He isn't big just over 6 feet tall but, stocky at around 240 Lbs which could have changed with two years of NFl training. The big knock on him was his pass coverage ability. I'm sure he has worked his coverage skills. I don't see him being asked to cover running backs out of the backfield. I think Staley will use him more in zone coverage. He is a good tackler and blitzer. He also is a hard worker and student of the game. I think he fills the job for early down play.


Could it be Howard and Young fight it out for the other starting position? Here a little about young from Mayock during the draft. Young is more a speed guy than physical but, he could be used in covering a RB/TE.

Mike Mayock Reacts to Ravens' Selecting ILB Kenny Young

Former Ravens running back Jamal Lewis announces the Ravens' selection of UCLA linebacker Kenny Young with the No. 122 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.

www.baltimoreravens.com

Howard a former safety in college is also a more cover guy that is likely less in weight than most ILBers. He is listed at 219 Lbers. I imagine he has gained weight and could be up to 230 Lbs,


As mentioned Floyd would be a solid choice to move inside on some downs. Rookie OLber Lewis has also moved around the front seven in college and could play the inside spot if needed. It was reported that Terrel Burgess would be used as a free safety. That would allow Rapp or Johson to move up and replace a LBer.

The others

Reeder seemed slow to change direction. Good size and can tackle.
Patrick is slow at 4.85 40. He seems like a better pass rusher.
Rozenboom is an unknown to me but, he runs reported around 4.77 and is only 230 Lbs
Bituli Nice size and wingspan may just not be athletic enough and why he was a UDFA.
Johnston-Something about this kid I like. Special team that could surprise later on. He has nose for the ball with good instincts and likes to hit.


With Kiser being able to step in at one ILBer spot they have options for the other spot.

 

[tomas]

I'd give Johnston time to heal before inserting him into the lineup.

A real lunch pail type guy Clay Johnston is sneaky athletic and has a high motor but has to stay healthy.

 

[BonifayRam]

Some early Happy random thoughts on this LB'er article......

ILB'er Clay Johnston- would not surprise me to see him listed as PUP in TC & early preseason.

ILB'er Kenny Young- Release material.

ILB'er Travin Howard- Now entering his 3rd season as an undersized LB'er will surprise many & will start as the move position. His versatility to play both LB'er & safety will be utilized fully.

MLB'er Micah Kiser- will have a ton of competition. Kiser will have to ball out in a serious hard fight to win a starting position. Long time Bear starter veteran Leonard Floyd who knows the Brandon Staley defense stands an excellent chance to play more @ MLB'er to direct & make the calls than Kiser IMO.

MLB Troy Reeder will not go away nor fade away.

ILB'er Natrez Patrick is a young smart perfect versatile LB'er for our new DC to enjoy finding ways to get him in action on defensive snaps.

MLB/ILB/OLB'er Daniel Bituli will bring & introduce the "HIT" that should come with tackles ........something we have not seen for long long time. Some of our young fans may have never seen Ram LB'ers display this skill.

Brandon Staley Hopeful Clay Johnston Can Get Knee Healthy In Time For 2020 Season

Rams News: Brandon Staley Hopeful Clay Johnston Can Get Knee Healthy In Time For 2020 Season

Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Brandon Staley is hopeful rookie linebacker Clay Johnston can get his knee healthy.

ramsnewswire.com

After losing so many key players this offseason, the Los Angeles Rams will be relying on more young players than ever before, particularly on defense. The Rams currently do no have a ton of depth at the linebacker position after losing Cory Littleton, Dante Fowler Jr. and Clay Matthews. The additions of Leonard Floyd and Terrell Lewis should help replace the production they’re losing on the edge, although it will be very tough to replace Littleton in the middle.

One option for the Rams is Clay Johnston, who they drafted in the seventh round out of Baylor. Johnston was originally expected to be drafted higher, although a torn ACL in his final college season lowered his stock a bit and the Rams were able to grab him in the final round. New Rams defensive coordinator Brandon Staley is very high on Johnston’s skillset and attitude, but he is hoping he can get his knee healthy in time for the 2020 season, via Stu Jackson of TheRams.com:

“He’s probably going to be known for his reaction to being drafted for now, but hopefully we’ll be getting him to playing some good football. But just the makeup, being a coach’s son, being part of that transformation of Baylor and that team becoming a national program, he’s an impressive guy to talk football with and hopefully we can get his knee healthy.”

Considering he is coming off the knee injury and doesn’t have any NFL experience, the Rams would be lucky to get some production on special teams out of Johnston in 2020 while hopefully developing him to be a future starting linebacker.

That leaves Micah Kiser, Troy Reeder and Kenny Young as the primary candidates to replace Littleton, which will be no easy task. While the Rams don’t have strength at linebacker, they do have quality defensive linemen and defensive backs, so the hope is they can pick up the slack and L.A. can have a much-improved defense in 2020.

 

[Merlin]

“He’s probably going to be known for his reaction to being drafted for now, but hopefully we’ll be getting him to playing some good football. But just the makeup, being a coach’s son, being part of that transformation of Baylor and that team becoming a national program, he’s an impressive guy to talk football with and hopefully we can get his knee healthy.”

He reminds me a bit of Kevin Greene in his personality, that over the top type of extrovert.

Coming in as a rookie when there is a new DC in place is kind of a windfall. Especially when it comes with a scheme change. Because now all of a sudden the guys who have been on the roster aren't so far ahead any more. So there is no reason why this guy can't challenge right out the gate. It's not like he's got incumbents like Roquan Smith or Trevathan ahead of him on the depth chart.

So from that perspective even though our ILB talent is iffy at best the battle for the job should be pretty good. Looking forward to that.