Rams go with Dakota Allen as final selection from 2019 NFL Draft

The Los Angeles Rams round out their draft with another special teams candidate in Dakota Allen during the seventh round.

With their final pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, the Los Angeles Rams selected linebacker Dakota Allen from Texas Tech.

Allen comes at a position of need for the Rams, who typically have not allotted a lot of resources to the linebacker position.

Similar to Nick Scott, also drafted by the Rams in the seventh round, he likely will look to contribute on special teams for Los Angeles as a rookie, that is assuming he earns a roster spot.

The Rams lost Mark Barron in the offseason after releasing him as a cap casualty, although they signed Clay Matthews to help fill the veteran presence lost by Barron’s departure.

They also have Cory Littleton, who has been a regular starting force in the middle and, as a restricted free agent, is a financial bargain.

Also, 2018 fifth-round pick Micah Kiser rounds out the middle linebacker group for the Rams.

Allen is a redemption story. After going to Texas Tech, he faced a second-degree felony burglary charge in 2016 and was dismissed from the program.

Later on, Allen enrolled in a junior college and worked his way back to the Red Raiders in 2017 before being voted a team captain, earning back his coaches and teammates’ trust.

From there, Allen started every game over the last two seasons and was a first team All-Big 12 his senior year (second team in 2017).

All signs indicate that Allen’s character situation is behind him while actually leading to his growth and maturity as a man.

Allen brings the normal things the Rams look for in a player, such as physicality, effort, competitiveness and an understanding of the game. He also has some common downsides that Rams fans are used to seeing, such as being a bit over aggressive and lack of speed.

After three exciting days of action, Allen rounds out numerous trades and selections for Los Angeles.

As you look up and down the list of players they selected, it is clear who they value, which is physical, competitive blue-collar athletes with a high football IQ.

Now that the draft is officially in the books, the fun part comes in seeing which of these players, including Allen, has what it takes to play valuable roles during the 2019 season for the Rams.