LA Rams: 3 defensive veterans poised for SNF break out game

Defensive lineman

At his signing, the LA Rams fanbase extended a very warm welcome to newcomer defensive lineman A’Shawn Robinson. One year later, the same Rams fanbase has cooled off considerably over Robinson. The reason? To be honest, few have any idea of what to expect from him this year.

He was originally added in 2020 to replace outbound free agent DL Michael Brockers. But medical concerns prevented Robinson from suiting up, contract negotiations failed and enabled the Rams to re-sign Brockers back for another year. But 2021 arrived, and now Brockers is elsewhere, and Robinson is suiting up to claim the starting role.

Robinson arrived to help the LA Rams defensive front in stopping the run, and he will certainly have a lot to say in that department today. But over the past year, this guy has changed his diet, changed his workout regimen, and arrived a much leaner and more explosive player.  We’ll see the debut of the new lean mean look today as Robinson lines up to take on a familiar foe.

Robinson can mean a great deal to this defense if he delivers at or over expectations. He has a high-ceiling that could give the Rams a player in the Ndamukong Suh range, a big body on the defensive line who attracts a lot of offensive line attention. Or he could fall short and simply be a guy out there getting blocked out of the play.  I think he will be more aligned with the former and can gobble up enough blockers to give his teammates free rein to make plays.