Intriguing position battles for LA Rams in 2024 will shock some fans

The LA Rams front office has done its part once more. From the 2024 NFL Free Agency market to the 2024 NFL Draft, GM Les Snead orchestrated an effective and powerful choreographed process that has addressed the team's 2024 roster needs. That is not just in the sense of quality, but in terms of quantity as well.

Still, talented rookies will not necessarily be 'anointed' as starters on this team's roster. While the void for a starter does pave the way for some rookies to feel secure in a starting role this season, other positions are not necessarily so cut and dry. It's that uncertainty factor that will make the Rams 2024 training camp such compelling football drama.

And that is how it should be. The Rams are a 2024 NFL Playoff team. The bar for making this roster, whether as a rotational or a starting contributor, is as high as ever. That level of competition is simply the first phase of what will become a career's-worth of competition. Whether in the effort to secure an optimal role on this team, or in producing against opponents throughout the NFL season.

As much as we may have our preferences and even players we believe should start, we cannot allow the coaches to cut corners. Whether added to the team with the first overall pick or signed to the 90th training camp roster spot, this team must ensure that everyone has a fair and objective crack at contributing.

So, where will the most competition be found in terms of position battles for playing time in training camp? Even as we await the arrival of reports from camp, there are several areas of parity that all but ensure incredibly fierce competition. Let's run down where that competition may occur:

IV: Kicker battle

As soon as the LA Rams selected Stanford placekicker Joshua Karty with the 209th overall pick in Round 6 of the 2024 NFL Draft, the conclusion of many is that this team has their starting kicker. While there is plenty of evidence to suggest that may be how it all plays out, let's not put the cart before the horse this time around.

In 2023, the LA Rams signed NC State kicker Christopher Dunn and Oklahoma St kicker Tanner Brown to the roster after the 2023 NFL Draft. Despite being undrafted, both kickers were highly regarded, and considered to fall among the Top-5 kickers of their rookie class. While Dunn was released pretty quickly, Brown competed for the team throughout training camp, finally being released after a disappointing third preseason game

Of course, we know how the 2023 NFL season turned out.

The truth of the matter is that Stanford kicker Joshua Karty has been described as one of the best placekicker prospects in the last five to ten years. That's a pretty lofty claim for a guy who was drafted in Round 6 of the 2024 NFL Draft. Keep in mind that Karty's draft profile ranked him as a far more promising kicker than San Francisco 49ers kicker Jake Moody. The Rams invested a Round 6 pick into Karty. The 49ers invested the 99th overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft for Moody.

But Joshua Karty must win the kicker competition over returning kicker Tanner Brown, and it won't be easy.

There are some positions where second-year players simply perform much better than rookies. Outside linebacker is one such position. Placekicker is another such position. While Tanner Brown did not win and retain the starting kicker role for the team in 2023, he is back and has the advantage of an entire 2023 Rams training camp under his belt.

This will not be a slam-dunk for Joshua Karty at all.

III: Defensive end dilemma

While the upcoming battle between undrafted rookie DE Anthony Goodlow versus veteran DE Desjuan Johnson may not be the first training camp battle that comes to mind, that does not lessen the temperature of this heated competition. Now, don't get me wrong, Johnson seemed to appear out of nowhere in 2023, appearing in 11 games, and recording nine tackles, two tackles for a loss, and 2.0 quarterback sacks in his rookie season.

Desjuan Johnson stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 252 pounds. He was the under-the-radar Mr. Irrelevant for the Rams in the 2023 NFL Draft who was hand-picked by Rams former DL Coach Eric Henderson. He was very productive, as his performance happened on just 102 defensive snaps.

But the Rams lost starting defensive end Jonah Williams to free agency, creating a void of 600 defensive snaps that must be filled this season. While the obvious answer is to slide the lion's share of snaps to Johnson, I believe that Anthony Goodlow will stake a claim to some of those snaps.

Goodlow is officially listed on the Rams website as standing 6-foot-5 and weighing 283 pounds.

He was productive in college, putting up 42 tackles, 7.0 tackles for a loss, and 3.0 quarterback sacks in his final season. He is versatile enough to line up to multiple positions and is ideally suited for a no-nonsense DL Coach like Giff Smith.

Desjuan Johnson will get many more defensive snaps in 2024. But look for the undrafted defensive end name Anthony Goodlaw to earn a rotational role in 2024 as well.

II: Safety solution

The 2024 Rams training camp will feature significant heated competition, but one that will be particularly fierce is the contest for a starting safety role between DB Quentin Lake vs. rookie DB Kamren Kinchens. After all, the core players of the Rams secondary in 2023 are all but gone and forgotten already, and include DBs John Johnson III, Jordan Fuller, and Ahkello Witherspoon.

The front office did not hesitate the secondary makeover, jumping on the opportunities to sign veterans Darious Williams, Tre'Various White, and super safety Kamren Curl. Still, that standard starting complement of defensive backs in a base defense is four. That means that even with three free agent additions added, the final safety spot is up for grabs.

Returning veteran Quentin Lake appeared to hold the pole position for that starting spot. After all, he played 453 defensive snaps last year, recording 53 tackles, breaking up six passes, and allowing just 62.3 percent of passes targeting his receiver to find the mark. But in all 14 games played and four starts in 2023, Lake did not generate a single interception. Nada.

If that is a concern, then you will be ecstatic over the Rams selection of Miami safety Kamren Kinchens with the 99th overall pick in Round 3 of the 2024 NFL Draft. Kinchens is a poster child of ball-hawking defensive backs, hauling in 11 interceptions in his last two seasons with Miami. When we discussed him in a recent article, we stated that he has averaged 59 tackles, 2.0 tackles for a loss, 5.5 pass break ups, 5.5 interceptions, and one pick-six per season in his final two years of college football.

Of course, college football is a far cry from the NFL. But if Kinchens can translate that ball-hawking finesse that he perfected in NCAA football to the NFL, he will do more than give Quentin Lake a run for his money. He will earn the final starting spot in the Rams secondary.

I: The edge of tomorrow

The consensus after the team selected OLB Jared Verse with the 19th overall pick is that the primary rotational role at the outside linebacker position will fall between veteran Michael Hoecht and rookie Brennan Jackson. And that may be very true. Starting OLBs Bryan Young and Jared Verse seems like a huge upgrade over the 2023 and 2023 seasons, even though Verse has yet to take snaps for the Rams' defense.

Where it gets very interesting is the competition between Hoecht and Jackson. Rookie OLB Brennan Jackson stands 6-foot-4, weighs 266 pounds, and is a firecracker off the edge who loves football, works hard, and is constantly working to improve his game. He will try to earn playing time form veteran Michael Hoecht, who also stands 6-foot-4 but is listed at 310 pounds.

Despite his ever-improving efficiency at outside linebacker, far too many fans focus on his struggles to cover some of the fastest receivers in the NFL. For a change, let's focus on what he did right in 2023. That means discussing 81 tackles, 6.0 quarterback sacks, breaking up two pass plays, seven tackles for a loss, 11 quarterback hits, one forced fumble, and allowing 77.4 percent of passes targeting his receiver to find their mark.

Can Brennan Jackson compete with that level of production? In a word, yes.

Jackson love football, and it shows in every play he makes. He is a passionate but high IQ player who is constantly evolving his arsenal to optimize his impact. He has the chops to rush the passer or drop back into pass coverage, a skill that has so far evaded Hoecht. Best of all, he recovered four fumbles in 2023, and converted three of those turnovers into touchdowns.

Hoecht is a steadfast and dependable performer who gives coaches some level of certainty over what he can, and cannot do, on defense. Jackson is a wild card, the joker of suits that can pay off huge rewards if the is given the chance to play early and often.

The Rams pass rush will benefit from this competition. But which of the two will make the bigger impact? Stay tuned . . .