It's only minicamp, but this Rams pass rush is loaded for the 2025 season

The Los Angeles Rams defense didn't set the NFL on fire in 2024. At least, not when it came to stalking opposing quarterbacks. The Denver Broncos' pass rush sacked opposing quarterbacks 63 times, good enough to lead the NFL in that statistic. The Rams' pass rush could only muster 38 quarterback sacks. landing it at 21st among 32 teams in the same category. 16 NFL players were able to record 10.0+ quarterback sacks single-handedly. Not one Rams pass rusher was able to reach that plateau.

DROY Jared Verse, a dominating force for the Rams who does not know how to quit, only managed to record 4.5 quarterback sacks in 2024. But big changes are coming to the Rams' pass rush this season. How can I be so sure? Let's just say that there has never been a collection of such formidable and passionate pass rushers on one team.

Let's start with the fact that the Rams have assembled a set of pass rushers that rivals the roster of the Marvel movies Avengers. Even as outside linebacker Jared Verse was earning his honors as the 2024 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, his teammates have been busy at their craft as well. In 2024, the Rams had three pass rushers with 7.5 QB sacks or more: DT Braden Fiske (8.5 sacks), NT Kobie Turner (8.0 sacks), and OLB Byron Young (7.5 sacks).

Now, just look at the list of rookies who have recorded at least 8.0 quarterback sacks as well as at least 45 quarterback pressures since 2020:

It's not too far of a stretch to envision the Rams starting four players on the defensive front of Jared Verse, Braden Fiske, Kobie Turner, and Byron Young recording 10.0 quarterback sacks apiece in 2025. In two postseason games against the Minnesota Vikings and Philadelphia Eagles, this pass rush recorded 16.0 quarterback sacks. Five Rams defenders, four of whom are named earlier in this paragraph, recorded multiple sacks in those two games.

Now here is where is really gets good

To all of this firepower, the Rams are expecting a significant contribution from 2024 rookie outside linebacker Brennan Jackson. Jackson showed great promise in training camp, but was dinged up and slowed his development. The team opted to sustain a three-man rotation at edge rusher last season, but you can expect Jackson to get his share of defensive snaps in 2024.

Still, the same team has added several new faces to the pass rush for 2025. So let's run down a few of the notable names you are likely to see this year: