7 bold predictions for the LA Rams in Week 16 vs the New York Jets

(7) - Look for ILB Omar Speights to have his best game of 2024

While the team was not initially sold on playing undrafted rookie inside linebacker Omar Speights this season, he has grown into the starting role after the team lost injured veteran Troy Reeder earlier in the season. He has suited up for 281 defensive snaps, been credited with 50 tackles, and has given this defense a run stuffing linebacker that it has desperately needed in 2024.

Per Pro Football Focus, Speights has a run defense grade of 80.5, an exceptional grade for a rookie who joined the defense mid-season. It's even more jaw-dropping as you dig a bit deeper, and realize that the Rams inserted Speights as a starter in mid-season. It's typically difficult for a rookie to step up in his first NFL season, but it's doubly difficult for a rookie who is thrown in as a starter halfway through an NFL season.

The Jets are much better at passing the football than running it, with the 18th-ranked passing offense (217.3 yards per game), but the 31st-ranked rushing offense (89.7 rushing yards per game). But if you revisit the weather conditions for the game, the cold temperatures and gusty winds favor a ground-centric offensive game plan. That means that the Jets will likely lean more heavily into running the football.

Enter Omar Speights, stage left. He has the ability to stuff the run, shed blockers, and keep the Jets rushing attack from getting any traction on a cold afternoon. His best performance of the season was a 10-tackle outing against the New Orleans Saints on Week 13. He will match or best that effort i this one.