LA Rams rookie Elijah Garcia could be the next big thing on the DL

There will be a great deal of interest in the play of the LA Rams defensive line throughout the 2022 NFL season. For the future-focused folks, the LA Rams face a mass exodus of defensive linemen at the end of this season. Contracts will expire for A’Shawn Robinson, Greg Gaines, Marquise Copeland, and finally Michael Hoecht. Wow. That is a boatload of strong defensive talent.

So who is in the talent pipeline to take over? Well, I can assure you of one thing. LA Rams Run Game and DL Coach Eric Henderson always has his ducks in a row.  And you can bet that he has a number of options poised to strike when the time is right.

One such player that is getting a lot of pre-camp buzz right now is someone who may not strike you as a solid option. I’m talking about an undrafted free agent rookie name Elijah Garcia, a young man who has already impressed Coach Henny.

Here is some video footage of his pro-day workout. While it’s almost impossible to gauge how well he is performing from this sideline angle, you can see even from this angle just how much energy he exerts.  After the two-minute mark, the video flips to game performances and individual drills.

This guy has no quit. He is full throttle on every play, every drill, every snap of the football. That’s the prerequisite for #DAWGWORK.

Like many defensive prospects who land on the LA Rams defensive line, his selfless nature did not end up capturing the attention of many draft scouts and analysts. Those who did view his performance did not give him a high draft grade because they discounted his performance as slow off his first step, too upright, and not gifted athletically.

What I saw was a young man who never took a rest on any given play, who played a role that he was assigned, and did not sacrifice his responsibility to jack up his statistics, and a strong young man who was more than a handful for opposing offensive linemen.