The Los Angeles Rams underwent a facelift on the defensive side of the ball this offseason. Defensive tackle Aaron Donald is one of the only recognizable names on the depth chart with veterans such as Jalen Ramsey, A’Shawn Robinson, Bobby Wager, Leonard Floyd, David Long, Nick Scott and Taylor Rapp moving on.
While many people have expected the Rams to add some veterans to the mix, especially at linebacker, they have opted against that, thus far. That has created plenty of opportunities for young players to step into the lineup and have a chance to prove themselves.
And for now, that is something head coach Sean McVay is okay with. During a pre-training camp press conference earlier this week, McVay revealed his feelings on the linebacker position and is comfortable with what the Rams have.
“Because we’ve got so many young guys at that position that are really competing, it was something that we talked about,” McVay said. “But I think just based on the landscape of the roster and the way that we ended up drafting three players from that position, had some other young guys, didn’t want to go that direction.”
Linebacker was a position that the Rams invested in heavily during the 2023 NFL Draft. Third, fifth and sixth-round picks were used on Byron Young out of Tennessee, Nick Hampton out of Appalachian State and Ochuan Mathis out of Nebraska, respectively.
All three players have a chance to break into the lineup right away as there isn’t much of a pecking order established. The only player who has likely secured any role for the 2023 season is Michael Hoecht, whose 4.5 sacks are the only sacks the linebacker depth chart currently has in the NFL.
Hoecht, who was a defensive end before converting to linebacker, also spoke about the state of the position. He understands the skepticism but knows that he and his teammates can get the job done.
“Expectations are probably gonna be low because we’re young, but I think we’re gonna surprise a lot of people,” Hoecht said. “I think there’s almost a chip on everybody’s shoulder that nobody expects things but they’re going to see some things.”
The state of the linebacker position for the Rams is something to certainly keep an eye on. There is playing time up for grabs and plenty of young players looking to make a good impression in the NFL for the first time.
