LA Rams: 5 players whose stock is on the rise after OTAs
In LA Rams News: Here are five players on the Rams roster whose stock is on the rise after the initial OTAs have concluded.
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5 players whose stock is on the rise after OTAs
The LA Rams have held their first wave of organized team activities, and the first reports are expectedly optimistic. After all, it’s an almost sure thing that the word out of camp will highlight the positives, even if the overall experience was not all on the plus side. Still, the Rams rookies are no different than any other NFL rookies in the sense that no rookie arrives at the NFL and looks the part of Pro Bowler in shorts and sneakers.Even second-year players or veterans who are promoted from the ranks of reserve players into starting roles get a grace period where their early performances in OTAs are viewed within the proper framework. This is early for any type for any full-fledged analysis, and in many cases, is simply the first encounters of coaches and players.
The objectives for the initial Organized Team Activities (OTAs) are to run through the installation of new offensive and defensive plays, refresh the basic data of players, renew or tweak any nutritional, exercise, or conditioning regiments, revisit the team’s plans for using that player in the upcoming season.
For younger players, this period also includes a host of introductions of basic routines that will become the foundation of their NFL future with that organization. Some players adjust and adapt quite quickly, while others take more time to process the overwhelming influx of new everything into their lives. Regardless of the pace, players all share the sole objective of contributing to the team, earning a spot on the roster, improving each day, and enjoying a long and lauded NFL career.
OT Jackson
Iowa Hawkeye and LA Rams UDFA rookie offensive tackle Alaric Jackson, a.k.a. A.J. Jackson, may not have heard his name called out during the 2021 NFL Draft, but he should be considered as a drafted offensive lineman after signing on with the Rams. After all, he had been projected anywhere from the third to the sixth round of the draft, and he most certainly fills a developmental need on this roster.
Both head coach Sean McVay and GM Les Snead faced continual scrutiny over the plans to address the offensive line this off-season. While the Rams lost starting offensive center Austin Blythe, the roster truly experiences a mass exodus next year as five of the team’s offensive linemen face expiring contracts. Snead himself mentioned Jackson by name when faced with those recurring questions from media at a post-draft press conference.
Rams head coach Sean McVay and GM Les Snead basically said they like the talent, depth and experience they have on OL currently n the roster better than prospects in the draft. Snead said they do have an agreement with Iowa OT Alaric Jackson to add as a rookie free agent.
— Eric Williams (@eric_d_williams) May 1, 2021
To be honest, the buzz about A.J. Jackson started as soon as he signed with the LA Rams. All of the factors that lead to optimism and buzz over the player are present. He was a draftable player who fell out of the draft. He was signed by a team with a clear need for his talent in one year’s time. He has the right dimensions and collegiate pedigree to have a solid chance of becoming a starter in the NFL. He even is playing for a position coach who coached up a former player from his alma mater into an All-Pro player.
There is no guarantee that lightning such as that will strike twice in the same spot. But it’s enough to poke at healthy imaginations to move to a far more optimistic and hopeful spot.
DT Brown III
You may not have expected the LA Rams to target a defensive lineman early in the 2021 NFL Draft. In fact, based on reports that the class of 2021 was neither particularly talented nor deep on interior defensive linemen, you would have been well-within-your-rights to conclude that the organization would not draft any interior defensive linemen this year. After all, wasn’t that the logic of carrying three undrafted rookie defensive linemen on the practice squad all season?
But Texas A&M defensive lineman Bobby Brown III was worth the trouble. Standing 6-foot 4 and weighing 325 pounds (ignore the 235-pound typo on the Rams official roster), Brown arrives at the NFL already looking the part of a player worthy of lining up next to teammate Aaron Donald.
View: https://twitter.com/ramsnfl/status/1405221616703873024?s=21
Brown is a force to be reckoned with, a true monster from college football, to the NFL to terrorize quarterbacks and ball-carriers for years to come. He has already demonstrated an incredible knack to apply pressure on the quarterback from an interior defensive lineman’s position. That is huge and is a tremendous raw skill set for defensive line coach Eric Henderson to work with as he tempers the raw power and ability of Brown into a savvy NFL defensive lineman.
Brown is an ideal rookie to be granted a unique opportunity to learn from one of the best to play next to one of the best. I mean, seriously, Brown has the chance to train alongside Donald, Sebastian Joseph Day, A’Shawn Robinson, Greg Gaines, and ultimately showcase his own tremendous talents on the football field among that group.
WR Jefferson
While LA Rams wide receiver Van Jefferson is the only non-rookie on this list, he is every bit deserving of showing up on a list of players whose stock is on the rise after early OTAs. After all, his 2020 rookie season was so close to being a redshirt season, it’s hard to gauge what his potential might be in 2021 without a bit of faith and guesswork.
The 6-foot-2 197-pound receiver out of Florida had all the promise of a star rookie, but his ability to get onto the football field behind Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp, and Josh Reynolds proved to be nearly insurmountable. As a result, he only saw action on 256 offensive snaps, was thrown to 31 times for 19 completion, 220 yards, and one regular-season touchdown.
His true chance to showcase his worth came in the Divisional Round of the 2020 NFL Playoffs when he hauled in six of seven passes thrown his way for 46 yards and one touchdown. Now keep in mind that Jefferson is the son of Shawn Jefferson, the former receiver coach of HOFer Calvin Johnson. Johnson is the former teammate of Matthew Stafford and gave a shout out to Van Jefferson during a recent interview on The Hook:
View: https://youtu.be/GTgiNaBqd_Q
While all of that is positive, the real buzz comes from Rams head coach Sean McVay himself.
View: https://twitter.com/ramsnfl/status/1403796746187296769?s=21
That is a huge endorsement from McVay. McVay doesn’t praise players needlessly, and putting this out there this early in the season is a soft way of saying “Show up big” to his young receiver.
ILB Jones
The LA Rams have run two seasons with almost no nurturing or caretaking over their inside linebacker position. Perhaps the expectation that developing undrafted players into Pro Bowl talent like the team managed to do with Cory Littleton nudged the organization into a bit of overconfidence. However the team intended their track to go over the position, they attempted to draft a developmental player at inside linebacker, waive the player to re-sign to the practice squad and were poached by another NFL team who signed their player.
In 2021, the organization finally was fed up, and committed a far-more valued pick to select South Carolina inside linebacker Ernest Jones. Although a rookie, Jones possesses all of the attributes that the team seeks in a starting inside linebacker, including the ability to track the offense, be fully aware of the defensive countermeasures, and call the appropriate play. In fact, he has already been calling defenses in OTAs.
View: https://twitter.com/stujrams/status/1388342044993626119?s=21
In any normal season or defense, the opportunity for Jones to earn a starting role would be less than 50/50 at this point. His circumstances are better than that for two reasons: No single inside linebacker stood out in 2020 for the Rams, which leaves the door of opportunity slightly more ajar for the rookie this year. Meanwhile, four of the Rams returning veterans are all on the last year of their contracts in 2021. For continuity’s sake, Jones would be the best choice.
TE Harris
The LA Rams may not be certain of exactly what they have in their new rookie tight end Jacob Harris, but they are feeling more and more confident that he could prove to be something very special in the NFL. In fact, there are messages between the lines already of what the Rams coaches are saying about the rookie:
Sean McVay on Jacob Harris as an all-over tight end or in-line tight end: “It’s a little bit too soon (to determine), but what would I would say is the smart thing would be if he can play in a variety of spots, that’s going to be the way we can put the most pressure on people.”
— Stu Jackson (@StuJRams) June 11, 2021
That places an awful lot of pressure on a rookie who truly hasn’t had a robust amount of football experience prior to being drafted by the Rams. In fact, that is one of the main reasons why he fell in the draft. His potential boasts an incredibly high ceiling. But he arrived as a very inexperienced and positionless NFL rookie. That allows the organization the opportunity to develop and mold the young man in several directions.
Sean McVay didn’t blink in providing his rationale when I asked about TE Jacob Harris taking ones reps all week since Tyler Higbee is not practicing – rare air for a rookie fourth-rounder even with a starter’s absence. Of Harris, he says, “He’s earned it.”
— Jourdan Rodrigue (@JourdanRodrigue) June 11, 2021
We were out there stating that this guy could someday develop into Megatron 2.0 from his measurables alone, and now others are following suit. Does he deserve it? You bet. He’s got great potential. But he’s not there just yet. In fact, his journey towards that lofty level of NFL production is only on the first steps.
View: https://youtu.be/MTpF6arPRc4
But Harris has so much potential in this Rams offense. His height, his speed, his ability to adjust to the ball in the air, and the fact that he is catching passes from Matthew Stafford, all have the promise of a very adept scoring threat in the offense that is desperate to find a red-zone weapon.
Now, don’t come all apart because we are daring to point to the apex of a young hugely talented rookie long before he has earned his place in the NFL record books. Yes, he could falter and never develop. But we expect that to be part of the reader’s filter. Could be is not anywhere close to being Will be. But realistically speaking, how many rookies have this type of welcome into the NFL?
On Jacob Harris:
“Harris has become a “special project” player for both tight ends coach Wes Phillips — with whom Harris is constantly in orbit receiving instruction — and head coach Sean McVay, who has taken extra time with the rookie during drills on more than one occasion. “ https://t.co/ZsqbdR4nBW
— Derek Brown (@DBro_FFB) June 15, 2021
It’s safe to say that the Rams organization believes that tight end Jacob Harris is a special player.
How will Harris handle all of this hype, attention, optimism, and lofty expectations? Well, there is the rub, isn’t it? He has to earn the coaches’ and his teammates’ respect, crack the roster, earn offensive snaps, demonstrate his ability to make plays, earn the trust of these coaches and teammates, and then go out and produce well and meet or exceed those lofty expectations. Easy? Not in the least.
But it can be done, Emerging from OTAs, that is about all you can take away. Positive buzz.
