With Littleton gone, who will step up at ILB for Rams in 2020?

[ROD-BOT]

With Littleton gone, who will step up at ILB for Rams in 2020?

Replacing Cory Littleton is a formidable task, but J.B. Long thinks the Rams are confident with the group they have in-house.

www.therams.com

With Littleton gone, who will step up at ILB for Rams in 2020?

It was a mundane diss, and I don't mean to call attention to this specific one – because plenty of others have made similar observations about the 2020 Rams inside linebackers.

There's no sense denying the short resumés in that room. And once again this offseason, L.A. chose not to devote many resources to that position group (at least not via draft, trade, or free agency).

However, this isn't a new approach for the Rams. And to date, the allocation of capital has worked out in the team's favor.

Granted, that was an unforeseen luxury afforded by Cory Littleton blossoming from a college free agent to a Pro Bowl special teamer and earning elite marks at his position, particularly in coverage. But the spot next to him was often a revolving door.

Since L.A. traded Alec Ogletree to the Giants before the 2018 season, here are the players who've started games at inside linebacker, along with a note on how they became aligned with Littleton:

Mark Barron – Converted from safety in 2015

Bryce Hager – 224th overall in 2017

Troy Reeder – Undrafted free agent

Ramik Wilson – Unrestricted free agent (after Kansas City declined to tender in 2018)

No one on that list earned a position grade worth touting the past two seasons, and yet the Rams won an NFC Championship and 22 regular season games. So while it would be hubris to think they can simply promote another Littleton through the ranks, there's not an appreciable difference between the above collection of talent and the returning and drafted options the Rams have to choose from now.

Travin Howard –231st overall in 2018

Micah Kiser –147th overall in 2018

Clay Johnston –234th overall in 2020

Troy Reeder – Undrafted free agent

Kenny Young – 122nd overall in 2018 (acquired from Baltimore in 2019)

Undrafted rookies: Daniel Bituli, Bryan London II, Christian Rozeboom

Head coach Sean McVay was encouraged by the reps Howard gave the team in December.

Before the draft, general manager Les Snead said of Kiser's rehab from a pectoral injury, "I don't know that there's been a day he's missed here. Buy stock in Micah Kiser."

And the scout who was responsible for Clay Johnson was quick to remind us of the torn ACL he suffered after six games for Baylor last season. "We really projected that he was going to be a higher pick," said Rams senior personnel advisor Taylor Morton. "I think he's going to be a steal of a deal in the seventh round."

During the Rams virtual program, new coordinator Brandon Staley called it an "open competition" for those jobs in the middle of his defense, and named just about every linebacker on the roster when weighing his options.

Now, returning to Bloom's point, we agree the dynamics in the NFC West have changed considerably. Though the NFL has devalued inside linebackers, and though the Rams are inclined to play sub-packages with only one middle linebacker on the field more often than not, he's not wrong that the San Francisco and Seattle ground games are daunting.

(As a quick aside, I find it interesting that the pieces Staley did add in anticipation of his first season as an NFL coordinator – namely tackle A'Shawn Robinson and edge Leonard Floyd – have run-stuffing pedigrees.)

Likewise, the task of replacing Littleton is formidable and especially consequential given that someone has to wear the green dot and relay play calls on defense.

But these aren't foreign challenges for McVay and the Rams, who believe they have capable options in-house, even if they aren't household names.

 

[den-the-coach]

Reading between the lines, seems DC Staley likes Micah Kiser and he was a tackling machine at UVA, let's hope he stays healthy and we get to see it. As to the others, I have posted several times I like Travin Howard, being a former Safety should aid in coverage and Howard did not seem overwhelmed when he was called upon in December.

Troy Reeder hard to figure because IMO, he looked bad and the PFF Stats underscore what our eyes viewed. Seems slow and can't cover a bed, so maybe he improves, but I for one would like to see somebody else.

 

[Merlin]

Our ILB position has been one of the poorest collections in the league in terms of roster quality for a long time now. That continues in 2020.

Defenses can make it work with heavy sub packages and that will be the approach again this year. But chances are we will still be a JAG squad when it comes to shutting down top run games. To do that (run games like the 9ers, Ravens, etc) requires players at ILB.

 

[oldnotdead]

Troy Reeder hard to figure because IMO, he looked bad and the PFF Stats underscore what our eyes viewed. Seems slow and can't cover a bed, so maybe he improves, but I for one would like to see somebody else.

Reeder was an undrafted FA with some upsides but needing a lot of polish coming in. So you need to put his play into context. Yes, he played slow but so do almost all rookies as they are acclimating to the speed of the pro game and new concepts. They normally are caught thinking their way through games. When you look at his collegiate film the kid has talent. He's got the kind of speed and aggressive you want in the NFL. When you look at his measurables he does check most of the boxes and although the NFL game doesn't reflect it he does have coverage skills.

I keep harping upon coaching failures last year. I've been a huge Wade Phillips fan for decades. But last year was a year like I've never seen from him. He had better options that he never used. Reeder had 27% of the defensive snaps as a rookie UDFA which is too small of a sample to simply give up on a UDFA thrown into the fray. I think Reeder has enough upsides to play in the NFL but he simply wasn't ready last year.

Phillips could have played Young who has a year of NFL experience starting 3 games, taking 36% of defensive snaps in 2018. That year he was used as a blitzing LB 36 times having an impact on 29 of those plays with 4 hurries, 6 QB hits, 2.5 sacks, and 13 pressures and a forced fumble. He has speed and some coverage skills with good measurables. So why did Phillips opt to play a UDFA over Young who has starting experience and proven ability? Young is built like a SS with SS speed. Phillips literally benched Young. IMO it's because Young was Snead's choice, not his. It's exactly that kind of coaching decisions that really impacted last year and I truly believe it was a major factor in Wade's release.

Phillips, Kromer, and Dickerson all got lazy last year and failed their players.

At MIKE Staley has Kiser another fast ILB with SS speed and the reputation as a thumper. With Reeder who I expect to play better in his second year and rookie Johnston behind him they are young and a bit inexperienced but I think they are ok at the position. Paired with Young and Howard both with good positional speed Staley has a lot of options.

People forget in the hybrid 3-4 the DC will normally pull the MIKE in passing situations to bring in the NCB. With Young in the base set as the MO or WIL backer, he can play that base as a nickel on early down passing. The MIKE normally is a 45-60% position in terms of defensive snaps. Phillips would normally pull the NT which made sense since SJD didn't bring much to the table. But with Robinson at NT I see him as a 3 down player the perfect compliment to AD inside. So IMO Staley will pull the MIKE to bring in the NCB. That will give Staley a defensive unit he can play as a nickel scheme or even a Dime scheme if they cross coach Young to play as a SS.

Too much is being made of the ILB position. The Mike is likely to be about a 45% position when you look at the division makeup. With Young as the WIL with proven NFL experience, I expect the ILB position to be fine. When you look at the speed Snead has built into the LB position this defense is really built to play the Niners tough no matter what the play call is from them. The ILBs can play sideline to sideline and have the speed to cover if properly coached up in those skills.

The NFL is becoming a pass-heavy league with the nickel becoming the base defense for most teams. Snead has built his defense to have the speed to counter both passes and run even out of their base defense. Snead has built a fast and versatile defense. Now it's up to the coaches to develop them and use them properly. If the players maintain discipline and play the scheme this will be a very tough defense to score on.

The d-line is solid, the OLBs are solid, the ILBs have experience at WIL and the MIKE is a part time position. People think it's a weakness but I don't see it that way. I still say Kenny Young was included in that trade for a very good reason, as I illustrated above. You only need one 3 down ILB and IMO that's what Snead traded for when he got Young. I also believe Kiser will be a huge upgrade over Littleton at MIKE. Kiser has the speed and physical style of play you want in your MIKE that was lacking in Littleton. Kiser and Young are huge upgrades at ILB in my view.

 

[Ram65]

I think down and distance will dictate packages for Staley. He has options.

Third and not a run situation possible second and long.

Staley can move Floyd in the middle on 3rd downs that are not obvious run situations. Floyd is excellent in coverage faster that Littleton with a 4.6 40 time, 6'5" with 80.6 " wingspan, and can come up and play the run. Staley has others that can rush the passer in these situations with Ebu, Obo, Lewis, Polite and Fox. So that leaves the two ILBer spots for early downs.

Base defense on first downs and possible second downs.

Kiser gets the nod as he was expected to start last year before the season-ending injury. He ran a 4.66 40 time so he isn't fast or really slow. Known for tackling and being a very good blitzer he could be a solid two-down Mike. We have to see how he covers when asked to. I think Floyd could have more coverage responsibilities on early downs.

Howard or Young will most likely be fighting it out for the cover ILber. Both run in the 4.6 range with Howard running 4.56 at his pro day. I'm sure he has added to his 211 Lbs weight. Young is a little taller at 6' 1" and weighted in at 236 Lbs when drafted. It's hard to say now who will cover and stop the run the best out of these two.

It's a battle to see who fits what Staley is looking for. Whoever wins the job will be also be fighting to stay on the field beyond 1st down. The Rams have options with Rapp or Johnson moving down and taking a Lber spot with rookie Terrel Burgess moving to free safety.

Others

Reeder took Kiser spot last year playing 25% of downs. As UDFA rookie he had some growing pains. He isn't afraid to stick is nose in to make a tackle but, seemed slow in transition. He ran a 4.6 forty so he has some speed but, needs to work on his coverage skills.

Johnston the late-round pick is recovering from a midseason knee injury. A very interesting prospect that Stanley stated was expected to be drafted earlier. It's wait and see time for him.


Conclusion

Stanley has options that he will use depending on opponents and down and distance. Staley has added The Big A in front to help slow down the run game and Floyd to help on the edge on early downs. This should help Kiser and the other ILber in stopping the run. Kiser has had two years to get up to NFL speed. He should be a nice upgrade over Reeder from last year. The Rams won't be relying on one player to fill in for Littleton. They have two speedy LBers to compete for early downplays and can move to a subpackage with three safeties if Staley thinks that's best. It's hard to find three-down ILbers that can cover and stop the run. Staley and the Rams have done a good job adding defensive draft picks and free agents that can come in a give him options with sub-packages.

 

[Rams43]

I enjoyed reading your post, Ram65.

Thanks, man.

 

[“Turbo set!”]

I like Kiser but have doubts h can stay on the field.