3 keys for LA Rams Saturday’s joint practice with Dallas Cowboys

Who shines at the inside linebacker position?

The LA Rams continue to have a lot of work to do to settle in on who the starters will be at the inside linebacker positions. That is due to the fact that the team has three players who return this season who have all had a share of the starting role in 2020, but who are all on the last year of their existing contract. The team has three players returning from 2020, none of whom had a single defensive snap. And finally, the team has a rookie who was drafted in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

Now the question is, who starts? That’s what we will likely find out today. Or at least that is what we hope to learn today. Who will start?

But it’s not enough to simply start. The LA Rams want to discover who can shine in that role.  So far, there is a growing volume in the buzz surrounding rookie Ernest Jones paired up with Travin Howard. The problem with that is that they have been working with the 2s against the offensive starters. Will either Howard or Jones get some snaps today in the joint practice?

Hopefully, the Rams sort out the inside linebacker depth chart fairly quickly. Right now, the problem in getting a good read on the roster at the position is that everyone is sort of bunched up at the same skillset/experience level. That forces the team to test pairing up everyone in a way. If the team can settle in on one definite starter, then the task of pairing him up with his teammates is a far easier task of finding the second starter. Hopefully, the Rams emerge with confidence in the play of at least one starter at the inside linebacker position.