Who might play larger roles in LA Rams Week 9 rotation?

Rising stars on defense

The LA Rams defense has been the cause of heated debate on social media and forums. Even as the team has risen to the best record in the NFL, there are those fans who are frustrated and disgusted with the defense.  How bad are the Rams when the opponent has the ball? Not as bad as some make it out to be.

This defense is the seventh-ranked defense in terms of takeaways with 13, ranked as the second-stingiest passing defense to score on with just nine touchdowns, and is the top-ranked defense this year with 25 quarterback sacks. Of course, the team has been riddled with injuries to starters like DB Darious Williams, OLB Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, OLB Justin Hollins, and now NT Sebastian Joseph Day.  So who will step up and help out this defense? We have a few players in mind.

The LA Rams have been slowly easing defensive lineman Michael Hoecht into the rotation, but with the loss of Sebastian Joseph Day, his playing time will likely spike this week. This 6-foot-4 310-pound defensive lineman has already started three games for the team, although his production has not warranted that honor. But things will start heating up for the guy in Week 9.

He is the guy who runs a 4.6-second 40-yard dash and pushes 25-reps at 225-pounds. While he has only racked up two tackles, he is averaging 12.5 defensive snaps per game. He’ll likely see more action this week, and that spike should help him perform better as he has a much better feel for the game.