Why Micheal Hoecht could play huge role for the LA Rams in 2022

It’s hard to imagine that LA Rams’ 6-foot-4 310-pound defensive lineman Michael Hoecht was once a running back. But he was, and he is a very intelligent player for the LA Rams. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. He is an athletic freak. He is a powerful young man out of Brown University.  And he was born in Oakville, Ontario.

Hoecht was signed by the team as an undrafted rookie free agent, at a time when the Rams stockpiled five such undrafted rookies to the roster. Of that group, only Jonah Williams and Michael Hoecht remain with the team.

So there is quite a bit to know about Hoecht off the football field, and we’ve been more than happy to indulge in those 360-degree player feature articles in the past. But on this occasion, we’re just here to discuss the football side of the street. Simply what goes on when the guy puts on the pads and steps onto the football field. Like his 40-yard dash time.

That’s pretty fast for a defensive lineman, much faster than that of Greg “Gazelle” Gaines, who clocked in at a 40-time of 5.16 seconds.

The long and winding Rams roster road

Well, he’s come quite a long way already. A year ago, he signed on with the team on a Reserve/Future contract. This year, he is returning as a player on the 53-man roster, having started three games and played in all 17 games from the 2021 NFL season. He’s seen action by starting three games on defense and playing 110 defensive snaps. He also played a significant role on special teams, playing 298 snaps there.

So far, he’s put up seven tackles.

His role diminished in a rather curious fashion after NT Sebastian Joseph Day fell to injury. As a result, the Rams activated DT Marquise Copeland, who played 108 defensive snaps to round out the remainder of the 2021 NFL season.

At the beginning of the season, the Rams had a six-man defensive line rotation. But by season’s end, the Rams shaved the rotation down to four-five players. So how will that all look for the 2022 NFL Season?

Rams rotations

The Rams will start the season with returning starters A’Shawn Robinson, Greg Gaines, and Aaron Donald for 2022. But both Gaines and Robinson are in their contract seasons, so the Rams will be leaning on a six-man defensive line rotation to start the year.  Curiously, both Marquise Copeland and Michael Hoecht are also playing in their contract years this season.

Due to their playing time, both Hoecht and Copeland are currently projected to be Exclusive Rights Free Agents (ERFA) at the end of the 2022 NFL season. That means that both will be inexpensive to re-sign, but not an automatic for the Rams to do so.

Based on how the team used players in 2021, the Rams will likely include three from the Michael Hoecht, Marquise Copeland, Bobby Brown, and Jonah Williams group in that rotation. Of course, others will be vying for playing time as well. But Hoecht has made significant strides each year in his development, and that trend places him in a front-row position to see action this year.

The Rams’ defensive line is in great shape for the 2022 season as is. But question marks cloud the view of the unit for 2023 and beyond. A great year by Michael Hoecht this year can help improve the view of 2023 tremendously. Will Hoecht play a huge role for the LA Rams in 2022? He can. And now all that remains is to go out and prove it.