Los Angeles Rams: Grading the Sebastian Joseph selection in the 2018 NFL Draft

In the sixth round of the 2018 NFL Draft, the Los Angeles Rams added another defender in Sebastian Joseph out of Rutgers.

During the final day of the 2018 NFL Draft, the Los Angeles Rams knew they were going to be quite busy since this was where a majority of their draft picks were going to be after only having one selection over the first three rounds, which they used on Joseph Noteboom. Without question, the sixth round is where the NFC West champions were hoping to strike gold with numerous draft picks, and to make the defensive line even stronger, the Rams decided to go with Sebastian Joseph from Rutgers.

When considering there were some scouts that believed he wouldn’t be drafted, Joseph has to be thrilled over the chance to compete for a roster spot on a team expected to be a heavy Super Bowl contender in Los Angeles. The Rams’ defense led by Aaron Donald was already considered one of the best in the league, but expectations for the unit hit a whole new level this offseason with the signing of Ndamukong Suh after he all of a sudden became available in free agency.

Starting will obviously be difficult, but with Joseph providing depth to the defensive line, this is just another reason for Wade Phillips to be all smiles after this weekend. Los Angeles already gave their defensive coordinator plenty of reasons to be thrilled over some of the new additions he gets to work with on defense, and it will be interesting to see what kind of production Phillips can get from Joseph over the next few months.

Next: 3 reasons to love Joseph Noteboom selection

Size wise, Joseph may need to bulk up a bit in order to find success at the NFL level, but this doesn’t necessarily mean anyone should doubt the defensive tackle’s ability and determination. As mentioned throughout the afternoon, this is the part of the draft in which teams look to find hidden gems in the final rounds, and Los Angeles never would have considered the thought of Joseph coming on board if he didn’t have what it takes to make an impact. With his quickness, Joseph seems capable of being a great fit for Phillips’ defense, although a C+ seems fair grade wise since he has a lot of work ahead of him from now until training camp.