LA Rams select LB Clay Johnston to open round 7

Clay Johnston is the first of three round 7 draft picks for the LA Rams

The LA Rams select Clay Johnston to open their round 7 selections as the 234th overall pick. Johnston played linebacker at Baylor University of the Big 12 Conference. He stands 6-feet-1 weighing 227 pounds.

In college, he made a total of 237 tackles. He intercepted two passes and had 4.5 sacks through four seasons. He was injured in October and missed the rest of his senior season.

He had limited participation at the NFL Combine. He bench-pressed 225 pounds 18 times. Johnston did not run a 40 yard or any shuttle runs.

Lance Zierlein of nfl.com wrote the following:

"Detail-oriented inside linebacker who needs a clean bill of health after suffering a season-ending knee injury in October. Johnston plays with a nice blend of physicality and instincts that help rack up tackles. He rarely stays blocked and does an impressive job of sifting through bodies to find the ball-carrier. He’s instinctive and active in zone coverage, but speed limitations hinder his man-cover ability. The football intelligence and instincts help mitigate average athleticism and speed. Johnston could become a special-teams standout with average, three-down-backup ability."

Most players selected in the 7th round spend time playing on special teams. Johnston will get the opportunity in training camp to push for an inside linebacker spot. Expect him to cover kicks and punts heading into week one. And he already has one former LA Rams player in his corner.

Zierlein continues with this nifty tidbit:

"The son of long-time NFL strength coach Kent Johnston was born to play football. … a two-time All-State pick as a defender as well as an All-State running back his senior year. Johnston started two of 13 games played as a redshirt freshman in 2016 (26 tackles, four for loss, one interception). He started eight games as a sophomore (54 stops, nine for losses)… a second-team All-Big 12 pick after leading the Bears with 99 tackles (5.5 for loss). His senior season started strong (58 tackles, eight for loss, 2.5 sacks, one interception, five pass breakups in six games) … Big 12 coaches voted him second-team all-conference."

Johnston could turn out to be a good Rams linebacker of the future.

Let’s watch and see. There are two more round seven picks left, who will they be?