OLB Chris Garrett signs. Is he the next LA Rams miracle find?

When the LA Rams approached the podium with their 252nd pick of the 2021 NFL Draft, it was with the understanding that the Rams would need to make this one count.  After a draft that harvested 50 percent skill players to a team that many believed to be saturated with offensive weapons.

The Rams have plenty of talented players to choose from. After all, this was a draft that had no consensus, which exaggerated the historic trend of one man’s trash becoming another man’s treasure. With players of such diverse 2020 NCAA college seasons and limited access to NFL teams, the opinions of many prospects ran the gamut from a late day one prospect all the way to a priority undrafted free agent signing.  All the while, the LA Rams smiled smugly and let players fall to them.

The personnel department had a proven track record of finding gems among the players that other NFL teams overlooked. You need to look no further than the 2020 NFL Draft to find sixth-round drafted safety Jordan Fuller to understand what we mean. Now, the Rams had one last chance to find a difference-maker.

Diamond in the rough?

They may have done exactly that. The selection of outside linebacker Chris Garrett has a feel of something magical in the future. He played at the Division Two school of Concordia College at Saint Paul.  But even from a small school background, he made big-time plays.

This young man was a massively productive college pass rusher.  So much so that Jay Blucher has already gone on record to speculate if Garrett may be far more important than an occasional sack specialist. When you see the excitement in this young man’s face, it certainly seems possible.

The LA Rams have needed a player who can leverage the dominant play of All-Pro defensive lineman Aaron Donald into massive production. Can Garrett be such a player?

QB sacker and a whole lot more

Well, his collegiate football career certainly allows someone to form that conclusion. While a bit undersized in some analysts’ opinions (yes, undersized has not been a detriment to Aaron Donald so far), this 6-foot-3 242-pound fox is sly and fast (5.60 grade per NFL.com).  Perhaps that is how he recorded 36.5 sacks in just 28 college games. But it gets better. He has 166 tackles, 48.5 tackles-for-loss, nine passes defended, 15 forced fumbles, and four fumble recoveries.

It’s obvious that Garrett loves to pin his ears back and chase quarterbacks all day. But he has that relentless never-gonna-quit mindset that is very encouraging. He appears to be the perfect lightning to Aaron Donald’s thunder, a flash of an instant to get his arms on the quarterback. He has faced larger blockers but has a complete arsenal of pass-rush moves that energizes his natural speed and quickness.

He is now officially signed and will be a welcome addition to the outside linebacker room where he will help the Rams compensate for the loss of Samson Ebukam. He will certainly have plenty of opportunities to show off his stuff for the Rams, as the defense rotates outside linebackers at a rather healthy clip.

Rookie superstar? That won’t be needed. He just needs to come in and do what he’s done so well in the past. Get after that quarterback.