3 breakout roster candidates making a name for themselves in Rams camp so far

Was it a long shot doomed to fail? Or was it one of those LA Rams GM Les Snead-inspired moments that will pan out, force 31 other NFL teams to sit up and take notice, and then scramble to replicate the magic captured in a bottle by this team once again. While the Rams were focused on the fact that having lost the opportunity to add either Georgie TE Brock Bowers or Texas DT Byron Murphy II in Round 1 of the 2024 NFL Draft, what the front office managed to pull off could be the best of three options.

And even at the cusp of smacking other 31 teams over the head and declaring 'DUH,' there is no awareness of how insightful and inspired this Rams plan is to bottle-shock their defensive front into NFL relevance this season. This is a ninja squad, a young group of pioneers who will blaze a new trail and explore new territory. After all, this is the first time in over 10 years that the Rams defensive front will no longer boast the presence of Aaron Donald.

Offensive coordinators have no reason to fear the Rams defense. Not yet, anyway. Respect? Of course. But there is no individual player on the defensive front who warrants cold hard calculation and a mandatory double team. Not yet, anyway. Still, reputations like that are earned, not given.

As of the first day of donning pads in the Rams training camp, it's simply too early to earn that reputation.

Defensive linemen and edge rushers need time to gel. Similar to the communication and coordinator required by offensive linemen and defensive backs in a secondary, a defensive front must learn not only to master their individual assignments, but to learn how to play together as a group to optimize their aggregate impact.

That does not happen instantly. Players must learn how to instinctively stunt to confuse blocking assignments. They must learn how to read offensive alignments and motions to make accurate projections of where the play is designed to go. And through it all, the defensive players must be able to read run or pass within a matter of a fraction of a second.