20 LA Rams UDFA signings now vie for permanent roster role

Defense

The LA Rams new defensive coordinator Brandon Staley wants players on defense who have skillsets that can translate into multiple roles on his defense.  After adding two safeties, a linebacker, an edge rusher, and a special team kicker in the 2020 NFL Draft, the LA Rams still had plenty of room for competition on the defensive side of the ball.

The combination of 2020 NFL Free Agent defections and potential loss of key contributors on defense to the same 2021 path made the Rams particularly dependant upon 2020 additions to the roster.

Any true competition for 2020 roster spots will likely happen with the drafted players. But the LA Rams defense has all the right ingredients for an influx of young talent. They have brought on new defensive coordinator Brandon Staley is a key element. The Rams defense shed five of the 11 starters from 2019 is another. And finally, while the team will remain a base 3-4 defense, the Brandon Staley version is a markedly different version than former defensive coordinator Wade Phillips’ version.

Staley’s version uses deception as its key weapon. Where the Ryan family defense (Buddy, Rob, and Rex) used numbers to overwhelm the offense, and Phillips uses strength to overpower the offense, Staley relies on giving opposing quarterbacks one look but then use a different play to confuse the offense. That type of defense relies upon players who can multitask. It also requires a stronger defensive line rotation, because the line must be able to play both two-gap and one-gap defense, perhaps even in the same play series.

To help run Staley’s defense, the Rams need to look at more defensive linemen, versatile defensive backs who can fill multiple coverage roles, another edge rusher, and linebackers – particularly those who can cover receivers as well as thump ball carriers in run defense.