New LA Rams trade-filled mock draft swells roster with young talent

With the 127th pick

With the 127th pick of the 2023 NFL Draft, the LA Rams select Byron Young, defensive tackle, out of the University of Alabama. Young is a huge and powerful defensive lineman, standing 6-foot-3 and weighing 297 pounds. He has a strong pass rush, and can stuff the run. But he is not the type of player who can fold and turn on a dime like you want to see in outside linebackers. So for now, let's project him as a defensive end type, much like the Rams had in former defensive end Morgan Fox.

The LA Rams need some beef up front, and Young is the type who checks all of the boxes. He is physical, determined, headsy, and loves to set himself up to make plays as the game progresses. By headsy, I mean that he remains aware of the play, and moves himself towards the action. Rather than just put his head down and get caught up in the conflict at the line of scrimmage, Young is aware of the play as it develops, and oftentimes can use that to his advantage.

While the Rams will need help on the defensive front, the versatility of Byron Young will be hard to ignore. After all, the Rams want to get tougher on both sides of the football, and the addition of Byron Young is a step in the right direction. Even while he is a down defensive lineman, he has enough potential to become a minor force at ramping up the Rams pass rush even as a rotational rookie.

The Aaron Donald effect never seemed to take hold in 2022, whether that was due to the lingering fatigue from playing late into the postseason the previous year, or other unrelated factors. But if the Rams add a Bryon Young, you can expect that boost to show up in Young's performance. Young has the potential, and the hunger, to develop into somebody special in the NFL. I think he will if he joins the Rams.