LA Rams NFL Draft 2021: A deep-dive dissection of all selections

Round 4, pick 117

The LA Rams acquired the 117th pick of the draft, a fourth-round selection, from the rival San Francisco 49ers, and wasted no time in making them regret the exchange. That being said, with the 117th pick of the 2021 NFL Draft, the LA Rams selected the huge 6-foot-4 321-pound defensive lineman from the Texas A&M Aggies, Bobby Brown III. He is not just a player to stash away for the future but he comes to compete for playing time now.

Armed with a hungry heart to smash, shed and tackle, Brown is a very accomplished and dangerous interior defensive lineman. In fact, Brown (6.21 grade per NFL.com) managed 5.5 quarterback sacks in just nine games in 2020.

When you play in the South Eastern Conference (SEC), you’re doing more than just playing against the top collegiate competition. You’re playing with the Big Dawgs, the minor leagues of the NFL. Brown was named first-team All-SEC.

And when Brown balled out in the SEC, he got himself drafted. The Rams just snagged one of the top four-rated defensive tackles in the entire draft.

He’s the envisioned replacement (upgrade?) for the now-departed Michael Brockers. And this one has the stamp of approval from new defensive coordinator Raheem Morris, who seems to have a particular penchant for the combination of beefiness and length. And for reasons that have everything to do with leverage,  Brown has 34 3/4 inch pythons.

A lever is a simple machine. It works by reducing the amount of force needed to move an object or lift a load. A lever does this by increasing the distance through which the force acts. Longer arms are the NFL’s version of levers.

Brown will be a run-stopping, space-eating lever capable of moving many NFL objects off their spots. In NFL lingo, Brown will keep the Rams’ linebackers “clean.”  That big body will just be plum-difficult to move off the ball.

His NFL comparable Philadelphia Eagles’ All-Pro  Fletcher Cox and that’s high praise, indeed.

Draft Grade: A