LA Rams fans social media fury over team's latest move in free agency

The trade off at outside linebacker nobody like to talk about

Everyone witnessed that effect when the Rams traded for OLB Von Miller. That dictated that the other OLB, Leonard Floyd, was repurposed to cover the flat. Von Miller started for the Rams in Week 10. Not so coincidentally, Floyd only managed to record 2.0 of his 9.5 quarterback sacks over weeks 10-18. That covered eight games. 7.5 of his quarterback sacks occured over the first nine games of the 2021 season.

The reason? With Miller rushing the quarterback, Floyd became the default cover guy. As fans react to adding an edge rusher, few consider the fact that a player like premier edge rusher Danielle Hunter or Brian Buns comes at a cost. As they rush a quarterback, they force young outside linebacker Byron Young to cover.

So yes, there is a trade off at the position no matter who the Rams added.

In all honesty, many of the plans to go big were a bit concenrning to me. Just like the addition of Von Miller, the team would be compelled to direct a big-ticket pass rusher to focus on rushing the quarterback. That would stymie the development of young outside Byron Young, a player who showed tremendous progress in the role in his rookie season.

Many cite the team's need to help out All-Pro defensive lineman Aaron Donald, particularly due to the frequency of teams double-teaming Donald. Well, let's update everyone. Rookie NT Kobie Turner was double-teamed more frequently than Aaron Donald in 2023 and recorded more QB sacks. So yes, help is and was already on the way.

Hoecht may not have been double-teamed, but his presence certainly helped the team get to opposing quarterbacks as well as they did. And like any other young player (2023 was his first full season at the position), he improved significantly over the course of the season.