LA Rams: 3 Most Pleasant Surprises on LA Rams defense

LB Kiser anchoring the middle of the field

The linebacker was already supposed to be a position of weakness for the Rams entering the season. Instead, it’s been an absolute strength and a lot of that is because of Micah Kiser, the leading tackler currently on this team.

Let’s give a little bit of a background on Kiser for a minute. Our focused star today was a fifth-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, selected as the 147th overall pick out of the University of Virginia. He appeared in all 16 games as a rookie, mostly as a special teams contributor. He suffered a torn pectoral injury in training camp and missed the entire 2019 season before coming back to the depleted linebackers group in 2020.

Stepping up to his turn

Kiser was asked to do a very difficult job in the first quarter of the 2020 NFL season: Step up as a starting linebacker and anchor the inside of the defense. Be the heart that pumps the blood of this defense. That’s what Kiser has done, playing every snap of the team’s first three games. He missed some time against the Giants due to a groin injury, but he’s been electric on the field. He has a hit on the quarterback, a team-high 32 tackles, three pass deflections, and a forced fumble.

I’m excited to see where Kiser and this Rams defense can go. They have shown the potential to be great, holding the electric Dallas Cowboys offense to just 17 points, the Philadelphia Eagles to 19 points, and the New York Giants to nine points, and without a single touchdown.

Kiser is questionable to play due to the groin injury this week against the Washington Football Team. But so far there have been no reports of serious injury. He will be back.