8 2021 LA Rams rookies who could surprise in 2022

V: Unleash the beast

The LA Rams had a lot of hope for rookie defensive lineman Bobby Brown III. But it’s tough to crack a rotation that includes Aaron Donald, A’Shawn Robinson, Sebastian Joseph Day, and Greg Gaines. Now that SJD is playing for the crosstown rival LA Chargers, there is a window of opportunity to slide into the Rams rotation early in the season.

Brown saw action, however sparingly, throughout the 2021 NFL season. 29 defensive plays and 61 special teams snaps through the full season resulted in just one tackle. But much like the perspective of Earnest Brown IV, Bobby Brown will return to the Rams in 2022 with clear expectations of what is needed from him, and a far better familiarization of what lies in store for him.

So what does lie in store for the 6-foot-4, 325-pound defensive tackle?

I don’t believe that I am being overly optimistic by setting the bar a bit higher for him in 2022. After all, he was a highly regarded prospect, he has the best defensive line coach in the NFL, and he has three incredible veterans to watch and learn from in Aaron Donald, A’Shawn Robinson, and Greg Gaines.

Brown was inching his way into the rotation late in 2021. While Gaines and Donald played nearly 100 percent of the defensive snaps, the Rams did rotate in Brown and Marquise Copeland to give Robinson a breather. I believe that Brown could begin the 2022 NFL season among the 15-20 defensive snap mark for the first four games. Depending on how that turns out, his share will be adjusted up or down from that point moving forward.