7 LA Rams players who must step up this season

While the LA Rams boast some of the best talent in the NFL, true winning teams find contributors up and down the roster. Here are 7 such players who need to step up this year

There is no question that the LA Rams have a number of young players seeking an opportunity to play this year. The Rams had cobbled together a solid competitor each season under Head Coach Sean McVay, focusing on the scheme and then adding players who compliment and flourish in that design.

Each year, the Rams had faced the challenge of paying for the excellent play of veterans who did flourish in that scheme, or reloading the talent pipeline by promoting the next man up. What happens next is up to the player, the coaching staff, and the opportunity.  The  plan may have hit a snag at the onset of the 2019 season.  Young players entered the season seemingly unprepared.

On offense, the Rams had promoted backup left guard Joseph Noteboom, backup center Brian Allen, and rookie running back Darrell Henderson to starting, or significant playing time, roles.  Not one player was able to convert that opportunity into a pleasant surprise last season.

In the 2020 off-season, contracts expire for OLB Dante Fowler Jr., DE Michael Brockers, ILB Cory Littleton, ILB Bryce Hager, LT Andrew Whitworth, and G Austin Blythe. While it’s everyone’s hope that the team can restructure player contracts to re-sign these pending free agents, the harsh business side of football may mean that the Rams will be entering the 2020 season without some or all of these players.  How can the Rams compete with so much production walking away simultaneously? Regardless of the outcome of free agency, the Rams are determined to claw their way back to the Super Bowl in 2020.