LA Rams January Mock Draft ‘smokes’ the secondary

With the 231st pick…

The Los Angeles Rams select defensive lineman Thomas Booker, from Stanford University. Late in the seventh round, the LA Rams will be drafting for special teams contributors, as well as players to develop in time for the 2023 NFL Season.  Thomas Booker is a solid addition to that effort.

Defensive linemen will not be plentiful in the rookie class of 2022, which could make the market price of NT Sebastion Joseph Day inflate quickly, perhaps out of the Rams price range. The Rams like to keep at least one rookie in the pipeline, as the steady flow of new talent pushes the guys returning to the team, and it helps the younger guys to ease into their new role with the Rams and the NFL without being shoved onto the football field in a swim-or-sink-to-the-bottom strategy.

Booker is one of the smartest college football players available in this draft, hailing from Stanford. Standing 6-foot-4 and weighing a stout 310-pounds, he is an ideal development prospect to take over the role for SJD if he signs with another team in the 2022 NFL Free Agency Market. Booker played 41 games in four NCAA college football seasons and racked up 159 tackles, 20.5 tackles-for-a-loss, 9.5 quarterback sacks, one interception, eight pass deflections, two fumble recoveries, and one forced fumble.

Booker is versatile and can play any position on the LA Rams defensive front. Due to his size, he has the ability to line up either as a defensive end or slide in as a nose tackle. Ideally, he should bulk up a bit more if he is doing more than a cameo spot in the middle of the Rams defense.

He is solid in stopping the run. But he has more work to do in order to threaten quarterbacks with a pass rush. Thankfully, he will have some of the NFL’s best and brightest veterans in that role to teach him some tricks of the trade. The Rams have plenty of depth at defensive linemen, so he will not be rushed along.