The meteoric rise of LA Rams DL Sebastian Joseph Day

From practice squad to NFL star

The 6-foot-4 310-pound nose tackle spent his first year on the team’s practice squad. But with the departure of free-agent DL Ndamukong Suh, SJD was the player who slid into the rotation alongside Michael Brockers and Aaron Donald. He did well, well enough to earn a larger role in 2020.

After all, he needed just 481 defensive snaps in 2019 to put up 44 tackles, five tackles for losses, five quarterback hits, and two quarterback sacks.  He earned a 2019 grade of 63.0 from Pro Football Focus, a sign of promising young talent.

The LA Rams added veteran NT A’Shawn Robinson in 2020, but due to health reasons, he was unable to take snaps until the second half of the season. But ‘Sea Bass’ (he does not like that nickname given him by veteran teammate Michael Brockers) was prepared.  He bulked up, focused on playing the nose tackle position, and surprised many.

With 15 percent fewer snaps, SJD rolled up 55 tackles, one tackle for loss, four quarterback hits, and one quarterback sack. His Pro Football Focus skyrocketed in 2020 to a grade of 80.6. In just three years from the sixth-round of the 2108 NFL Draft, Sebastian Joseph Day is a rising NFL star.