How can this Rams pass rush continue to keep QBs uncomfortable in the pocket?

While it has been a bit quiet of late, the LA Rams and the Rams pass rush continue to be one of the top stories in the NFL in 2024. Built in the 2023 and 2024 NFL Drafts, the defensive front continues to be one of the youngest and most dangerous defensive fronts in the NFL.

And it's time for the young pass rushers to show the NFL what they are truly capable of.

Over the span of the last three games on their schedule, the Rams will take on the New York Jets (4-9, Week 16), the Arizona Cardinals (7-7, Week 17), and the Seattle Seahawks (8-6, Week 18). And while the Rams are currently on a three-game winning streak, and 7-2 since their Week 6 BYE, the team needs that pass rush now more than ever.

This pass rush must somehow put pressure against the Jets (14th in fewest sacks allowed), the Cardinals, (fifth in fewest sacks allowed), and the Seahawks (30th in fewest sacks allowed). The thing is, the Rams face both the Cardinals and the Seahawks for the second time to close out the 2024 NFL schedule.

The Rams are the only team in the NFL to have three players rank inside the top-16 in hurries through Week 15. OLB Jared Verse (@JaredVerse1) ranks fourth (44), DE Kobie Turner (@TurnerKobie) ranks eighth (39), and DE Braden Fiske is tied for 16th (35). pic.twitter.com/GhwqecHpv7
— Los Angeles Rams PR (@TheLARamsPR) December 17, 2024

The LA Rams pass rush is young, hungry, and effective. The team is not just buoyed by the performance of one or two players. Rather, this is a defensive front that plays like the motto of the Three Musketeers: 'One for all, and all for one.' And the best part is that they are not just a closely-knit group like a veneer that masks what is really going on. They are young players who genuinely enjoy playing football and competing with one another on their stat lines.

The team has discovered the means to harness the same esprit de corps that players enjoyed in college while allowing them to carry over their production into professional football. That has been huge for this defense, and it stands against the NFL's top producers in the history of the game.

Even if OLB Jared Verse (@JaredVerse1) and DE Braden Fiske don't play on Sunday, they would still finish in the top-10 for the most hurries in NFL history through a player’s first 15 games. The Rams are the only team to have two players ranked in the top-10, and they were in the… pic.twitter.com/9e7HEQZdYq
— Los Angeles Rams PR (@TheLARamsPR) December 20, 2024

While we acknowledge that they are not yet the 'Fearsome Foursome' of Rams legends just yet, they are certainly a cohesive and productive group of young defenders. How effective are they? Just check out some selected 2024 statistics:

NT Kobie Turner | 60 tackles | 7.0 QB sacks | 9 TFLs | 20 QB pressures
DT Braden Fiske | 38 tackles | 6.0 QB sacks | 8 TFLs | 17 QB pressures
OLB Byron Young | 50 tackles | 6.0 QB sacks | 11 TFLs | 20 QB pressures
OLB Jared Verse | 58 tackles | 4.5 QB sacks | 11 TFLs | 29 QB pressures
OLB/DT Michael Hoecht | 45 tackles | 3.0 QB sacks | 4 TFLs | 10 QB pressures

Three games remain, affording this group to place plenty of pressure on opposing quarterbacks. If the Rams are to have any hope of competing in the postseason, this pass rush must continue to find ways to put the pressure on.

While this group may not have the presence of All-Pro DT Aaron Donald to carry them through an NFL season, it's obvious that these players are learning to depend upon one another. In 2024, it's no longer about stopping one player. Rather, how can offenses stop everyone?

And therein lies the rub. Thanks for reading.

How can this Rams pass rush continue to keep QBs uncomfortable in the pocket?

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