7 LA Rams who desperately need a strong effort against Raiders

III: OLB Byron Young

The LA Rams pass rush is a significant concern to Rams fans, and that may or may not be founded. It really did not show up in the Rams' first preseason contest until second-year players Keir Thomas and Daniel Hardy took the football field. If it happens again, rookie outside linebacker Byron Young could find himself slipping down on the Rams depth chart.

As it now stands, Young is certainly going to make the LA Rams 53-man roster. But after his first preseason game of 23 defensive snaps and just one tackle, his status of starting for the Rams defense is certainly a looming question mark.

Patience is a virtue

He has the right size and power for the job. Standing 6-foot-3 and weighing in at 245 pounds, Young has a chiseled look of an NFL pass rusher. Now it's simply a matter of refining his technique and training his mind to process what he sees on the football field and harness that power to bring down opposing quarterbacks.

Pass rushers never seem to hit the ground running as rookies. And sometimes, it can take more than half of an NFL season before a rookie outside linebacker records his first quarterback sack. The reason for that is the fact that a pass rusher has so many things to process in that first second after the football is snapped. Is it a running play? Will he need to set the edge? Does he face a pocket passer or a dual-threat quarterback who can scramble?

The key for any rookie coming off the edge is to show a positive trend of development. So there is a strong need for Byron Young to play better over the next two preseason games. Let's hope that he delivers.