Gurley: Dante Fowler is 'getting to the ball as fast as Aaron Donald'

[Riverumbbq]

By: Cameron DaSilva

Dante Fowler Jr. provided a boost for the Rams last season after he was acquired just before the trade deadline. He did enough to earn a one-year contract from Los Angeles for the 2019 season, a deal that will pay him up to $14 million.

He still has plenty to prove to the Rams, which is why both sides opted for a short-term deal. This season could be his best yet, having a full offseason to work with his new team rather than coming over mid-season. Todd Gurley expects big things from Fowler in 2019 after seeing what he’s done in training camp.

Speaking with Steve Smith on Thursday, Gurley was asked to pick his breakout player of the season for the Rams. He went with Fowler, paying the pass rusher a huge compliment.

“Dante Fowler. I know we signed him back on a one-year, we might need to go ahead and get him again,” Gurley said. “He’s been a new animal. He’s been getting to the ball as fast as Aaron Donald, so that tells you a lot about him.”

That’s some seriously high praise coming from Gurley, who gets to watch Fowler firsthand every day in practice. Fowler has been working hard on his pass-rush moves this offseason, staying after practice to get in reps with Rob Havenstein.

He’s also improving his technique, staying tight around the edge to get to the quarterback more quickly.

A breakout year for the former No. 3 overall pick would be a welcome sight for the Rams after giving him a contract worth up to $14 million this offseason. They desperately need a complement to Aaron Donald off the edge, taking pressure off No. 99 on the interior.

If Fowler can be that guy, Les Snead, Sean McVay and Wade Phillips will be thrilled.

https://theramswire.usatoday.com/20...m_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=pos2headline

 

[So Ram]

I don’t think it’s an if ?? Fowler was spotted getting of the edge during practices. He has leaned out & is faster of the ball. Clay Mathews is also mixing it up as well. Never know where he is coming from. Will keep Offensive lineman on there toes. I saw him a couple times Right side , but maybe his strong suit is from the left side against Big Rob & RT vs LT’s.

 

[Psycho_X]

Our three weaknesses on defense last year was outside pass rush, second tier run defense, and breakdowns in pass defense between safeties and CBs.

Weddle should help with backend, Kiser sounds like he’ll be what we want in middle, and if Fowler takes that next step this team is going to be unstoppable. So excited.

 

[Loyal]

Greed and Fear......We could have gotten Fowler at an extremely advantageous discount before the season, but we feared that we would overpay (multi year deal). Now, he's gonna rip up NFL offenses and be a free agent at season's end...and we won't be able to afford him....

 

[Reddog99]

Greed and Fear......We could have gotten Fowler at an extremely advantageous discount before the season, but we feared that we would overpay (multi year deal). Now, he's gonna rip up NFL offenses and be a free agent at season's end...and we won't be able to afford him....

I think Fowler will be back. Seems like he likes being here and wants to stay and work with Wade and Aaron Donald. I think he will take a discount to stay here depending on how this season goes.

 

[rams1fan]

I think Fowler will be back. Seems like he likes being here and wants to stay and work with Wade and Aaron Donald. I think he will take a discount to stay here depending on how this season goes.

Rarely do players take discount on second contract. I really doubt it.

 

[Loyal]

I think Fowler will be back. Seems like he likes being here and wants to stay and work with Wade and Aaron Donald. I think he will take a discount to stay here depending on how this season goes.

We'll see. If the rams win a Super Bowl, I kind of doubt it.

 

[oldnotdead]

I really have no doubt that Fowler will finally be the player he was projected to be as the #3 pick in 2015. Here is something most don't realize. In his 3 years with the Jags he only started one game and that was in his rookie year. In his early years he had a number of off field issues, but seemed to clean himself up and had a career best year in 2017 with 8 sacks as a rotational player.

Looking at his early games then his 2017 games I can see the beginnings of growth in Dante as a player. He's got tremendous talent. In Jackosnville he was buried behind Yannick Ngakoue and Calais Campbell at the time. I have to wonder about his motivation to develop in that environment, where he could see it would be years before he would be a starter. But interestingly enough Ngakoue is holding out now that Fowler is gone.

Fowler is in the best situation of his career and he knows it. He's working hard on his craft and he's now more than just a speed rusher. IMO the Rams got a complete steal in Fowler who if he continues to develop can become an elite edge rusher he has that kind of talent. When he was a rookie he weighed in at 261 lbs, now he's stronger and lighter at 255, the ideal weight for an edge rusher. At the combine he ran a 4.60 and now 6 lbs lighter and stronger lower body, he probably would time in the mid 4.5 range. That is very fast for a man his size.

I am excited to see him play this season. He's only 24 so he's a young still developing talent. He is exactly the kind of edge rusher this team needs. If the Rams can find one more to player for the DE position this would be a very formidable pass rushing team. Obo is showing himself to be injury prone, who knows when and if we will ever see him now that he's so far behind. As much as I like JFM, I think he needs to drop 10 lbs and gain a bit of speed. 4.75 isn't bad for a man his size. But if he can get into the 4.6 range he would be far more effective. He's at 288 lbs and I think dropping into the 270's would help his speed and quickness. He's facing big tackles who for the most part will out weigh him. Using speed and quickness to out position them will get him farther than simply trying to out wrestle the OT.

Overall I think the team is headed in a good direction defensively. This looks to be a much improved unit this year.

 

[SteezyEndo]

I’m picturing syncronized annihilation with this years Defense. We are going to obliterate Offenses. We are stacked. Game genie mode cheats activated.

 

[InnovatedMind]

I’m picturing syncronized annihilation with this years Defense. We are going to obliterate Offenses. We are stacked. Game genie mode cheats activated.

"Game Genie Mode" ... JESUS... what an oldschool reference haha.

 

[dang]

The Rams saw something they liked in Fowler last year but not enough to give him a lucrative 2nd contract (like they did with Cooks). There is no doubt that Fowler will pick up where he left off and likely continue to grow into a formidable edge rusher. He is also very good at moving laterally as a run defender. His edge presence should also allow Donald to continue his success as an interior pass rusher. I believe the Rams would be smart to make a hard run at extending Fowler early in this season if he comes out hot. They don't want to let him hit free agency after a highly successful season because he will want a max 2nd contract (not a home team discount) and will have a number of suitors willing to one up the Rams.

 

[PhillyRam]

Let's say Fowler has 10-12 sacks this year and is generally disruptive as hell. Also Marcus Peters has 6 or more picks and has a great year overall.

Which one do you keep because you can't keep both if you intend on keeping guys like Kupp, Everett, and John Johnson beyond their first contracts and or extending guys like Woods or Higbee.

Rams have $50M in cap space for next year as of now. Goff is on the books for $22M next year. So take another 10M off for his $32M per yr deal.

So roughly $40M left and not many vets to cut unless you do not bring back Matthews and Weddle, but overall not a lot of savings there.

And you also have vets like Brockers & Talib who we would like to see back if they have good years

It's a tough decision.

Unless Ebukam looks great this year and or Trevon Young or Lawler emerge, you may have to go with Fowler.

Also if Talib does play well, he can be a cheaper stop gap as they load up on CBs next year the in the draft.

 

[Riverumbbq]

Let's say Fowler has 10-12 sacks this year and is generally disruptive as hell. Also Marcus Peters has 6 or more picks and has a great year overall.

Which one do you keep because you can't keep both if you intend on keeping guys like Kupp, Everett, and John Johnson beyond their first contracts and or extending guys like Woods or Higbee.

Rams have $50M in cap space for next year as of now. Goff is on the books for $22M next year. So take another 10M off for his $32M per yr deal.

So roughly $40M left and not many vets to cut unless you do not bring back Matthews and Weddle, but overall not a lot of savings there.

And you also have vets like Brockers & Talib who we would like to see back if they have good years

It's a tough decision.

Unless Ebukam looks great this year and or Trevon Young or Lawler emerge, you may have to go with Fowler.

Also if Talib does play well, he can be a cheaper stop gap as they load up on CBs next year the in the draft.

Out of Fowler and Peters, and considering they would both have an outstanding 2019 season, i'd be leaning towards keeping Fowler being the depth behind him doesn't appear all that great as we look at it from todays standpoint. The development of David Long will become a factor, as will whether Talib wants to give it a go for another season with an extension. Of course, the real decider will be the quality of what comes available where we pick in the draft. An early pick to replace Brockers may not be necessary if both JFM and SJD work out as expected, and hopefully Noteboom or even David Edwards makes the transition to LT without losing a beat. jmo.

 

[LARAMSinFeb.]

How in the world are we gonna pay/keep all our great players?

It's a great time to be a Rams fan.

 

[Riverumbbq]

How in the world are we gonna pay/keep all our great players?

It's a great time to be a Rams fan.

It may not be as bad as you think. If there are no big surprises and our personnel remains fairly predictable, we could easily top $50mil in available CAP space in 2020. If we sign Goff to a long extension sometime during the 2019 season, it's likely we can save a few million more off his 2020 salary which is now set at nearly $23mil due to his 5'th year option. If Whitworth & Talib retires and Brockers/Blythe head out in free agency, we are really only left with 4 significant players we probably want to re-sign, those being Fowler, Peters, Littleton & Zuerlein. That list could be expanded to 6 depending on how well Higbee & Morgan Fox perform, so along with re-signing several of the lower cost back-up players, our only other costs are signing the 2020 draft class. Adding expensive free agents may not be a thing for 2020. After the recently announced record bump in NFL earnings this past year, the overall NFL CAP may jump higher than the traditional $10mil. of recent years, that in itself may help propel us beyond the already projected $50.mil. Trust in Demoff, he knows what he's doing with our CAP situation. jmo.

 

[NoCoNite]

Fowler’s going to have a huge year next to other elite lineman. Get over paid by some team reaching for help and then be average or below again. We should be able to line up any decent 2-4 round pick they should be good with AD on the line. Wade spots talent on the edge.
I’m not worried about keeping him.

 

[Ram65]

Fowler had an ACL injury his rookie year in 2015. That set him on a bad path early on. IIRC he didn't like how the Jags dealt with him early on. He likes being wanted here with the Rams. I was surprised the Rams gave him as much money as they did $12M for this year. It was reported he got higher multi year offers. It makes sense for both sides to see what he can do. Giving him $14-15M per year on a 4-5 year deal seemed a bit crazy based on his production. Let's see what he does this year. I expect good things. I also think he would be incline do take a little less from the Rams moving forward. If he has a good year it will still be expensive to resign him.

 

[snackdaddy]

Rams formula: Pay the core players and make enough draft day deals to accumulate some talented 2nd/3rd rounders to take over for the guys you can't keep. Top players are in the first round, but there are plenty of next tier blue chip players the next two rounds. You can't have 22 all pros. But if you have a few in key spots, a lot of quality role players will keep you competitive.

 

[Riverumbbq]

Rams formula: Pay the core players and make enough draft day deals to accumulate some talented 2nd/3rd rounders to take over for the guys you can't keep. Top players are in the first round, but there are plenty of next tier blue chip players the next two rounds. You can't have 22 all pros. But if you have a few in key spots, a lot of quality role players will keep you competitive.

Not that I would wish an injury, but if some QB goes down, it would certainly be beneficial for the Rams to trade Bortles for a high draft pick. He's worth nothing to us at the end of the season. Of course, Bortles will have to put on a good show during our pre-season games.

 

[snackdaddy]

Not that I would wish an injury, but if some QB goes down, it would certainly be beneficial for the Rams to trade Bortles for a high draft pick. He's worth nothing to us at the end of the season. Of course, Bortles will have to put on a good show during our pre-season games.

I'm don't live close enough to attend any camp sessions. But when I watch video of the quarterbacks doing their thing, Bortles just moves so much differently than Mannion did or any of the current backups. He looks much more of a legit backup. Trading him might net us a nice pick for a QB needy team, but I'd sure be crossing my fingers Goff stays healthy.