LA Rams claim intriguing DT for Coach Henny’s #DAWGWORK

The LA Rams defensive front is starting to get battered now, as the team has lost veteran DL A’Shawn Robinson for the season, has lost All-Pro Aaron Donald for several weeks, and now has learned that undervalued DT Marquise Copeland has been injured. To compensate, the LA Rams have claimed the recently waived Tennessee Titans DT Larrell Murchison.

What do we know about Murchinson?  Not as much as we’d like to, but we’re learning about him quickly:

For starters, we know that he was the 174th overall player selected in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Tennessee Titans, a draft class that was particularly strong and deep with defensive line talent.  That was the same year for the Rams’ defenders Michael Hoecht and Jonah Williams signed with the LA Rams after the draft.

The young man out of North Carolina State has some less-than-prototypical NFL defensive lineman dimensions, but he has a furious method that keeps him on his feet and around the football. He is a sponge in terms of learning techniques, relentless in terms of sticking his nose to the grindstone, and a joy to line up alongside and coach, as he is a willing padawan to optimize his defensive production to any Jedi Knight coach.

And yes, LA Rams defensive line coach Eric Henderson is a Jedi Master.

The LA Rams continue to exploit their preferential priority for the NFL Waive Wire, claiming their second player off waivers in a week. Larrel Murchison is a sound role player, and his reputation intrigued a number of NFL teams, with the Detroit Lions and Seattle Seahawks reportedly submitting claims for the young defender as well.

Murchison is one more intriguing addition

So far this season, Murchison has appeared in five games, and has seen action on only 48 defensive snaps, but has gotten two tackles this year. So why claim him?

Well, the LA Rams are thin at the defensive line position, and that was not helped in the least when the Denver Broncos claimed the promising DL Elijah Garcia from the Rams practice squad. Keep in mind that the Rams had also repurposed DL Michael Hoecht to play at the outside linebacker position.

With the addition of Murchison, the Rams’ DL depth has been strengthened considerably. The Rams have DT Bobby Brown III and DE Jonah Williams on the active roster. And the Rams have DE Earnest Brown, T.J. Carter, and DE/OLB Zach VanValkenburg on the practice squad.

DL Coach Eric Henderson loves to get blue-collar mindsets, players who do not take plays off and continue to push hard on the practice field and on every snap of the football during the game. That is a pretty good summation of Larrel Murchison, and why he is so very popular among NFL GMs and coaches. Will it make a difference this season? Perhaps not. But Murchison has potential and intrigue, and we know that some defenders can elevate their game in the Rams’ defense.

The LA Rams are all but out of the playoff picture. But if you view Murchison’s addition as a multi-year roster move, it has plenty of upside potential. Stay Tuned. . .