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5 players who need to play large role in LA Rams success this season

If the LA Rams are to compete in the 2025 NFL Playoffs, here are five players who will need to play a large role in the team's success.

By Bret Stuter

Los Angeles Rams Minicamp, Blake Corum, Jordan Whittington
Los Angeles Rams Minicamp, Blake Corum, Jordan Whittington / Jayne Kamin-Oncea/GettyImages
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V: NT Bobby Brown

Whenever a player who has had ample opportunities to compete enters the off-season on a quest to getting a larger role with the team, I'm not quite sure how to interpret that. On the one hand, I'm thrilled that any player is hungry and eager to expand their role on the team, which logically corresponds to a better season that warrants that larger role.

But in the meritocracy rules of NFL depth charts, I find myself falling into skepticism, particularly for a player with three or more NFL seasons under their belts. After all, if you earn larger roles on the Rams roster by standing out, producing, and performing at a level that demands more snaps, then logically I can conclude that the level of performance and production in the past did not warrant such a promotion.

So, what's changed?

In the case of 6-foot-4 324-pound NT/DT Bobby Brown III, the most obvious difference is that he is entering the fourth and final season of his rookie contract. Unfortunately, his role with the team so far has yet to really attract the type of love and attention necessary to get a far more lucrative extension from the Rams front office, or from some other NFL team for that matter. And that is something that he wants to change.

Brown is not bad, per se. It's just that when the Rams selected him with the 118th overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft, he brought lofty hopes with him. Now in his fourth NFL season, Brown's potential has yet to become on-field production. As a result, the Rams have turned to other players, like NT Kobie Turner, and now rookies DT Braden Fiske and DT Tyler Davis.

In three NFL seasons, Bobby Brown III has played 499 defensive snaps, has 40 tackles, 0.5 quarterback sacks, five tackles for a loss, and one quarterback hit. While he is the blocker-gobbler on this Rams defensive front, the team will need more from him in 2024. There are far too many young players, each of whom may be inconsistent in terms of production.

This defense needs Bobby Brown to step up and become a Steady-Freddie force of consistency this season. After all, this is his contract year.

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