LB Depth Chart?

[XXXIVwin]

I’ve looked at a few sites for “Rams depth charts”, and at the LB position, they’re all over the map. I’ve seen no less than 8 guys penciled in at various configurations for the four spots.
They are:
Young, Obo, Floyd, Kiser, Reeder, Ebu, Howard, and Lawler.
(Other LBs include Patrick, Polite, Holland, and Carraway.)

Who do you guys see as the leaders (pre-draft) to start, and at what spots? Would Floyd be ILB or OLB?

We lost a huge amount of talent and production in Fowler, Matthews, and Littleton. Are others concerned the remaining LB corps looks high in quantity but low in quality? On paper, I don’t see one single LB as a surefire above-average starter. Ebu is solid but not spectacular. Obo is unproven as an every down player. Kiser hasn’t taken a single D snap yet. And Floyd is a wildcard.

Will Rams be compelled to take 2 LBs in their first four picks? Discuss.

 

[jrry32]

My best guess is:
OLB: Leonard Floyd
ILB: Micah Kiser
ILB: Travin Howard
OLB: Samson Ebukam

But there are will be plenty of competing. And I expect us to add a few rookies. There's a lot of value at ILB on Day 3.

 

[fearsomefour]

Nearly impossible to say at this time....
But I will echo Jerry’s list....
Floyd
Kiser
Howard
Ebukam
Floyd is obvious and will be moved a round a bit I think too, inside and outside.
Kiser was the starter until injured.
Howard was getting more snaps at the end of the year and appeared to be playing well.
Ebukam was already playing in certain sets with Matthews on the roster and healthy.
The Rams having so many young LBs makes it really tough to project. Add in a new DC and it makes it almost impossible.
Other guys I think stick are Oko, Reeder, Polite (assuming he’s not mental), Young....the competition for the last LB spot or two is going to be very tough.

 

[SeminoleRam]

What are thoughts on Jordyn Brooks from Texas Tech? Sounds like a pretty interesting Middle Linebacker prospect who from what I have read is expected to get selected in the 2nd or 3rd Round in this upcoming draft. Would you use one of the Rams 2nd Round picks on him (Probably won’t be there with the Rams 3rd Round Pick)?

 

[dang]

Gotta believe one of the 2nd round picks will be ILB. I wouldn’t count on a rookie being a starter (at least not in the first half of the season) so I believe a cheap vet pickup may be in order. I believe OLzB/Edge will be addressed in 3rd or 4th round but we have a lot of young talent that will need to step up for this year.

 

[So Ram]

What are thoughts on Jordyn Brooks from Texas Tech? Sounds like a pretty interesting Middle Linebacker prospect who from what I have read is expected to get selected in the 2nd or 3rd Round in this upcoming draft. Would you use one of the Rams 2nd Round picks on him (Probably won’t be there with the Rams 3rd Round Pick)?

Jeremiah likes him in his mocks to The Rams. How would a speed LBer look in
Staley’s defense ??
Mark Barron fit well with Greg Williams & Wade’s D” Joe Barry is going to have a Big say in who The Rams draft at that position.

 

[den-the-coach]

I concur with @jrry32 & @fearsomefour on the depth chart to this point, although I could see Floyd more inside and maybe Justin Lawyer on the outside, but I do expect a couple more additions, maybe Logan Wilson from Wyoming & Marlon Davidson of Auburn.

 

[LARAMSinFeb.]

What are thoughts on Jordyn Brooks from Texas Tech? Sounds like a pretty interesting Middle Linebacker prospect who from what I have read is expected to get selected in the 2nd or 3rd Round in this upcoming draft. Would you use one of the Rams 2nd Round picks on him (Probably won’t be there with the Rams 3rd Round Pick)?

I was wondering that too. An aggressive downhill thumper who would need to develop pass-D skills would be a major shift for us.

 

[OC--LeftCoast]

I’ve become a big Obo fan, we’ll see what happens

 

[LARAMSinFeb.]

I’ve looked at a few sites for “Rams depth charts”, and at the LB position, they’re all over the map.

I think that's unfortunately a sign of how shaky the position is on this team. One thing that would help them immensely is an OL that can sustain drives, though.

 

[SeminoleRam]

I’ve become a big Obo fan, we’ll see what happens

Was very hopeful that he would be a great addition/asset to the Rams Defense when the Rams drafted him AND when he got healthy! Hopefully, We will find out this season!

 

[Merlin]

Our depth chart at ILB is fucking hideous for a contender. We need talent badly. All the unicorns and rainbows we throw out about thinking this guy or that guy will magically develop into a top ILB for us aren't gonna mean a thing when these guys get into camp and there aren't enough pieces to do what Staley wants to do. He was brought in to give us varied fronts and looks vs different opponents. And right now both the ILB and OLB positions are so poorly stocked there is zero chance he'll be able to do that year one.

So for me the question is when in the draft not if they'll address it.

Also one thing that is missing from so many LB prospects nowadays is what the Rams so badly need: physicality. Some guys simply are not wired to decisively fill holes, stack blockers and try to make the play. Most in fact tend to try to run around the blockers or in the case of the coverage types like Littleton they actively avoid the contact. So what I look for in these guys is what I call "pop" or an ability to shock the lineman with arm technique without getting wired to them. That plus the mentality to fill your run fit is crucial and I guarantee you are two things that Staley has on his list of elements he wants in ILBs.

One other thing I think Staley is going to want from these guys is flexibility. An ability to move around and play different fronts/looks for a given opponent will be extremely desirable, and IMO will make guys like Baun (edge rusher who is decisive off ball but probably not on the board come 52) or Uche (edge who is comfortable in space off ball with physicality you want in this scheme) very attractive to the Rams. Hitting on a LB who can do a bit of both would be very nice for our new DC.

Lastly when I look at the ILB possibilities vs the Edge types Edge is probably going to be prioritized. Why? Because we need OLB too and the talent level options at OLB will likely trump ILB at both 52 and 57. For example even if we drop down a bit do you want to take Okwara and fill the Edge roster with a guy who can run outside technique for us on the blindside as a rookie, or take an ILB who has some holes in his game. Barring a situation where a guy like Murray drops to us, that is what we're looking at IMO. So I agree that it's most likely we see ILB addressed round 3 or 4 range.

 

[Kevin]

We don’t really know what we have in many of our linebackers on the roster now. How good are Kiser, Lawler, Young, Howard, Patrick, Carraway, Polite and Holland? They haven’t played much so we don’t really know. Adding two linebackers in the draft in rounds three or four just adds more of the same to our roster, IMO, so I don’t care if we draft one at all.

 

[Ram65]

OLB: Leonard Floyd
ILB: Micah Kiser
ILB: Travin Howard or Kenny Young
OLB: Samson Ebukam

This could be the starting group but, I have some doubts. I have doubts about Howard's size as a starting ILber. He seems more suited to be a big nickel safety. Young has shown some versatility blitzing and in coverage. Kiser hasn't been on the field so he is still an unknown. These two spots seem to me to be the big question marks on the defense. I've been looking at this spot in the draft hoping the Rams can get at least one that could compete and start.

Malik Harrison- Is a big run-stopper that would be more a two-down player. He looks to be third-rounder in the draft.

Logan Wilson- Has more potential as a three-down player that can pass cover better. and bring the wood. He also looks like a third- round pick but, could go early third.

On the outside, Ebu played better last year splitting time with Matthews getting a little more snaps. Ebu will be ready to be the starter getting the majority of snaps this year. Floyd has the ability to pass rush and cover. He will be on the field a lot. We have to see how much Staley moves him inside to cover pass routes. The Rams have Obo, Lawler, Polite, Holland and Carraway that can be pass rushers. Depending on performances I think they will try to keep them fresh and rotate them. It's always good to add a pass rusher in the draft. There are a lot of ways the Rams could go depending on who is available. They have choices but, they would have to draft one early.

 

[Merlin]

We don’t really know what we have in many of our linebackers on the roster now. How good are Kiser, Lawler, Young, Howard, Patrick, Carraway, Polite and Holland? They haven’t played much so we don’t really know. Adding two linebackers in the draft in rounds three or four just adds more of the same to our roster, IMO, so I don’t care if we draft one at all.

"Not playing much" is an indicator. It actually tells us a lot.

Here's a couple pre-snap formations from our week 15 game last season vs the Seahawks. This is first possession. Rams knew the Shehawks were looking to run in both situations but basically elected to stuff the run by having their DL two gap...

1st and 10 (first play of game) we see a 6 man front with Littleton at ILB:

It works because of SJD textbook stack and shed and Donald also is there. Note Littleton bottom formation playing pattycake out of the play (which is just another example of why he's not a Ram right now):

3rd and 2 (two plays later) and another obvious run down/look by Sheattle. Rams line up in the same 6-1 look:

Littleton once again creatively runs himself out of the play. Meanwhile Sheattle gets a crease and the only run support is via the secondary:

Seattle and the 9ers are both division rivals that prioritize running the ball. On both those plays above the Rams knew the run was coming and still elected to stack their front seven with an additional lineman. Which is telling. I put this up because when I reviewed this game a few months ago it surprised me how they prioritized their packages, where I expected to see more of Reeder (who actually saw quite a bit of action for us in 2019).

Now I could put up some stills of our young and unproven LBs in sub duty not doing or accomplishing much, but I think the above is very telling. Also note that Reeder in his rookie season actually won a primary sub position among this ILB group. Of all these young and unproven ILBs he was undoubtedly the best last season and he actually did some good things too, but he is very limited in space.

Even if in the best case scenario Reeder was to develop into a SILB in this scheme under Staley we would still require another LB to be added to this group. I think that shows the lack of real options. Howard is probably the guy with the best shot at Littleton's role, and tbh playing to Littleton's level would be far easier than the more casual fans realize, but he's got a long way to go judging from 2019.

 

[Malibu]

I agree with Merlin on this. It is too hard project what we have considering either potential starters were injured Hager, Kiser or the rest didn't stand out much.

I must say and I could be wrong, but losing CL could be similar to losing Saffold the year prior.

As for the draft in the first round there are three solves but none will be there when we pick at 52. I saw Queens nocked to us not happening. Every mock I have seen him in the first maybe top of second. Truthfully I think Murray is the perfect fit for us but he will be gone between 17-24.

The good thing is Staley was a LBs coach with a great pedigre. So I am sure that will help some.

Like I say the Run D and the oline are the 2 areas that we need to fix. In FA we upgraded our Run D but downgraded our OLB. We may be okay at OLB not sure at ILB though.

 

[Merlin]

As for the draft in the first round there are three solves but none will be there when we pick at 52. I saw Queens nocked to us not happening. Every mock I have seen him in the first maybe top of second. Truthfully I think Murray is the perfect fit for us but he will be gone between 17-24.

I will admit I am holding out hope that either Queen or Murray drop to us. Neither should drop to us in a normal draft, but this is not a normal draft. This draft is loaded with depth at the top and ILB in general takes a back seat to other positions and those other positions are strong. So yeah I think it's possible one of them drops near us, say into the 40s, and who knows maybe the Rams can sit tight and get one which would be very nice.

I mean just total up the OTs, the QBs, and the WRs who are going to go in round 1 in this draft. It's kind of crazy tbh. Then look who is left and where do those ILBs slot. It's really tough to say man. I could definitely see one of them being forgotten for a little while.

Oh and lastly note that I am that asshole on the board who thinks Littleton wouldn't have been able to even start for a Fangio DC. He would probably be a primary sub option because he wasn't any good at anything other than coverage in this scheme. So I don't think losing him was bad at all for the Rams in fact I believe it was a good thing. Also people think he'll be the MIKE in the Raiders' defense (even Ourlads thinks this) but I doubt it. There's tons and tons of snaps where he shows he's no MIKE. He is a liability in run fills period. The film says he'll be the WILL in that defense at least on run downs, with Kwiatkoski taking MIKE. Unless the Raiders are very stupid, and even then once they get a load of Littleton at MIKE they'll make a move pretty quickly.

 

[jrry32]

"Not playing much" is an indicator. It actually tells us a lot.

Here's a couple pre-snap formations from our week 15 game last season vs the Seahawks. This is first possession. Rams knew the Shehawks were looking to run in both situations but basically elected to stuff the run by having their DL two gap...

1st and 10 (first play of game) we see a 6 man front with Littleton at ILB:
View attachment 35686

It works because of SJD textbook stack and shed and Donald also is there. Note Littleton bottom formation playing pattycake out of the play (which is just another example of why he's not a Ram right now):
View attachment 35687

3rd and 2 (two plays later) and another obvious run down/look by Sheattle. Rams line up in the same 6-1 look:
View attachment 35688

Littleton once again creatively runs himself out of the play. Meanwhile Sheattle gets a crease and the only run support is via the secondary:
View attachment 35689

Seattle and the 9ers are both division rivals that prioritize running the ball. On both those plays above the Rams knew the run was coming and still elected to stack their front seven with an additional lineman. Which is telling. I put this up because when I reviewed this game a few months ago it surprised me how they prioritized their packages, where I expected to see more of Reeder (who actually saw quite a bit of action for us in 2019).

Now I could put up some stills of our young and unproven LBs in sub duty not doing or accomplishing much, but I think the above is very telling. Also note that Reeder in his rookie season actually won a primary sub position among this ILB group. Of all these young and unproven ILBs he was undoubtedly the best last season and he actually did some good things too, but he is very limited in space.

Even if in the best case scenario Reeder was to develop into a SILB in this scheme under Staley we would still require another LB to be added to this group. I think that shows the lack of real options. Howard is probably the guy with the best shot at Littleton's role, and tbh playing to Littleton's level would be far easier than the more casual fans realize, but he's got a long way to go judging from 2019.

Good news is that this class has some legitimate bangers on Day 3. Evan Weaver and Joe Bachie are old school ILBs. Great instincts, not afraid of physical play, and will not hesitate to fill their gap. David Woodward isn't as strong as those guys, but he's also unafraid to play through blockers and bring the wood.

 

[Ram65]

Some Edge/OLbers that the Rams can look to. This guy has a lower rating on Baun but, most mocks have him going in the first round or early second round. It going to be hard for Snead to find the right mix in the draft with the Rams needing to get a backup RB a future replacement for Cooks at WR. Offensive line help etc...

Players like Davidson, Okwara, Anae, and Greenway need work in the run game but, can become designated pass rushers in year one.

The Rams are stronger in the secondary and upfront which should help the LBers. It's hard to find ILBers that can do it all. The Rams are going to have to use different sub packages. I couple of good draft picks can help in that area.

2020 NFL Draft Prospects: Tony Pauline's Rankings and Scouting Reports

PFN's Chief Draft Analyst and Insider Tony Pauline releases his overall rankings, position rankings, and scouting reports for 2020 NFL Draft prospects.

www.profootballnetwork.com

Marlon Davidson	Auburn	37	DE	DE04	2	4.01	Scouting Report
Julian Okwara	Notre Dame	45	DE	DE05	2	3.93	Scouting Report
Jabari Zuniga	Florida	58	DE	DE06	2	3.82	Scouting Report
Bradlee Anae	Utah	66	DE	DE07	2-3	3.79	Scouting Report
Alton Robinson	Syracuse	85	DE	DE08	3	3.64	Scouting Report
Jonathan Greenard	Florida	94	DE	DE09	3	3.60	Scouting Report

Josh Uche	Michigan	44	OLB	OLB03	2	3.94	Scouting Report
Curtis Weaver	Boise State	48	OLB	OLB04	2	3.90	Scouting Report
Terrell Lewis	Alabama	49	OLB	OLB05	2	3.89	Scouting Report
Zack Baun	Wisconsin	54	OLB	OLB06	2	3.84	Scouting Report
Akeem Davis-Gaither	Appalachian State	73	OLB	OLB07	3	3.74	Scouting Report

 

[Merlin]

Some Edge/OLbers that the Rams can look to. This guy has a lower rating on Baun but, most mocks have him going in the first round or early second round. It going to be hard for Snead to find the right mix in the draft with the Rams needing to get a backup RB a future replacement for Cooks at WR. Offensive line help etc...

Players like Davidson, Okwara, Anae, and Greenway need work in the run game but, can become designated pass rushers in year one.

The Rams are stronger in the secondary and upfront which should help the LBers. It's hard to find ILBers that can do it all. The Rams are going to have to use different sub packages. I couple of good draft picks can help in that area.

2020 NFL Draft Prospects: Tony Pauline's Rankings and Scouting Reports

PFN's Chief Draft Analyst and Insider Tony Pauline releases his overall rankings, position rankings, and scouting reports for 2020 NFL Draft prospects.

www.profootballnetwork.com

Marlon Davidson	Auburn	37	DE	DE04	2	4.01	Scouting Report
Julian Okwara	Notre Dame	45	DE	DE05	2	3.93	Scouting Report
Jabari Zuniga	Florida	58	DE	DE06	2	3.82	Scouting Report
Bradlee Anae	Utah	66	DE	DE07	2-3	3.79	Scouting Report
Alton Robinson	Syracuse	85	DE	DE08	3	3.64	Scouting Report
Jonathan Greenard	Florida	94	DE	DE09	3	3.60	Scouting Report

Josh Uche	Michigan	44	OLB	OLB03	2	3.94	Scouting Report
Curtis Weaver	Boise State	48	OLB	OLB04	2	3.90	Scouting Report
Terrell Lewis	Alabama	49	OLB	OLB05	2	3.89	Scouting Report
Zack Baun	Wisconsin	54	OLB	OLB06	2	3.84	Scouting Report
Akeem Davis-Gaither	Appalachian State	73	OLB	OLB07	3	3.74	Scouting Report

I think Baun is a move-up if the Rams want him. It's the size and flexibility, a lot of teams will be interested in him and in comparison vs these other edge types he's the better player just in that role. Stronger vs the run which means more snaps played right out the gate.

IMO for us the names in play in round 2 are Okwara and Uche. I really like Anae (think he's far better a player than his measurables suggest) and Robinson but IMO the Rams could move down and still get them.

And Davis-Gaither is undoubtedly a Rams target in the round 3 range.

If I had to guess how this goes down I would think the Rams are hoping to hit on a wideout at 52. Value is likely there, it's a need, and this offense could make a few of these guys impact players as rookies with McVay scheming them open on top of what they add as a third weapon or so in the pecking order. I don't think we'll have a shot at the big boys (Higgins & Mims) as the length will be prioritized, however that's fine because Raegor and Aiyuk both are possibilities. Hamler too although I am more lukewarm on him than most here.

Also I think the 57 pick they trade down (I would take Uche btw). They could move down and still get a guy like Anae who IMO is going to be a plus player on the edge, while adding another pick for another shot at a young starter to help offset these goddamn high end contracts the Rams not only have but will be handing out two more of next offseason (Ramsey & Kupp). Either way some combination of Edge & Center I would think would be in play in those next two.