Darious Williams and 6 other Rams who are slept on as training camp opens

(4) - OLB Byron Young

Much like his friend and teammate, Kobie Turner, the steady durability and productivity of outside linebacker Byron Young are easily blended into the background of the overall young Rams defense. But Young is not just someone who shows up and consumes defensive snaps. He is a juggernaut, an elusive 6-foot-2, 258-pound pass rushing powerhouse who has restored life to a defense.

And much like his teammate, Kobie Turner, Byron Young is due for a career-best season.

Young arrived at the Rams in 2023 as a rookie who was eager to learn how to compete in the NFL. And his passion-fueled rookie season was a smashing success in every definition of the word. The thing is, he learned how to play in DC Raheem Morris's defense. In 2024, he had to learn how to play in DC Chris Shula's defense.

It's not as though Young regressed in 2024. He simply did not show much progress or improvement over his rookie season. While few have taken the time to explain that, the reasons are somewhat straightforward. Young was in a new defense, and many of his teammates last season were rookies or new faces. As with any unit, it takes time and continuity to perfect coordination, chemistry, and communication.

As much as I'd love to see Byron Young explode in 2025, his season will be fueled by more than my optimistic faith. He returns to a defense that he competed in last season. And his postseason production in just two games resulted in six tackles and 1.5 quarterback sacks. He even had two tackles for a loss. It's all clicking for him.

He won't be tasked with as much of defensive snaps in 2025 with the ascension of rookie OLB Josaiah Stewart and second-year OLB Brennan Jackson. But less is more, and Young will be fresher and faster in his pursuit of the quarterback this season.

(3) - TE Tyler Higbee

As much as the Rams front office tried to mitigate the absence of veteran tight end Tyler Higbee last season, the Rams truly never seemed to get much out of the tight end position until Higbee finally returned over the final three games of the season. That futility was doubly disappointing as the team had TEs Colby Parkinson, Hunter Long, and Davis Allen on the roster.

And all three ultimately were given an opportunity to make something happen on offense.

Higbee suited up for three games, 58 offensive snaps, and managed to catch eight of 12 passes for 66 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Of his eight receptions, five were good enough to move the chains. While he was one of the least used tight ends last season, he was the most productive in terms of points scored.

With the absence of Cooper Kupp and Demarcus Robinson this season, you can look for Higbee to get a lot of work early in the season. And it makes perfect sense to look for him to make the most of those early-season opportunities.

The Rams are extremely motivated to get rookie TE Terrance Ferguson up to speed this season. While that will be a process over time, the goal is not just to get Ferguson productive in this offense, but to get Higbee enough rest throughout the season that he is equally effective in the NFL Playoffs. Since Higbee was returning from injury last season, he needed all the work he could get to ramp up to his gameday productivity.

But you can expect Higbee to be a comfortable connection with Matthew Stafford this season, and he may have an incredible September 2025 as a result. The Rams have depth at the tight end position this season, but Tyler Higbee is still the best tight end on the roster.