LA Rams 2020 NFL Draft class saving the day like the cavalry

Round 3 Pick 84: Terrell Lewis

The LA Rams began to address their defensive needs in round three, beginning with an edge rusher at pick 84 named Terrell Lewis.  Another SEC product that fell to the third round all the way back in 2011 was Justin Houston. If Terrell Lewis can manage to stay healthy for a full season in his career his statistics should compare favorably to those of Houston.

Houston generated remarkable stats for a third-rounder with a 9.9 sack average per season. The most remarkable thing is that he was one sack away from making his average a perfect 10 per season.

Being paired next to All-Pro defensive lineman Aaron Donald should help buoy Lewis’s stats as they will enjoy a symbiotic relationship. Either Donald collapses the pocket pushing quarterbacks towards Lewis or Lewis will make the opposing quarterbacks climb the pocket into Donald.

If Lewis can successfully get to the quarterback for multiple sacks early in the season, that will likely force opposing offenses to respect him. In turn, that immediately helps to lessen the double and triple teams on Donald, which in turn will give him an easier time of making plays. Of course, another result could be opposing teams setting two tight end formations and keeping in more players to block.   That will give the defensive backs fewer people to cover, which will give new defensive coordinator Brandon Staley the green light to fire up the blitz packages.

Lewis’s greatest competition will likely come from Rams veteran outside linebacker Samson Ebukam.  Ebukam had five starts for the Rams in 2019, and will likely be the first player extended that role to this year.  The Rams allowed Samson Ebukam to see action on 51 percent of the defensive snaps, so he will likely start on the opposite side of Leonard Floyd.

I do believe he will have a slow rookie season in his first year but by the next year, he should get a massive spike in production.

If you want the full breakdown of Terrell Lewis, just click here to see his full profile.