Spoiler Alert: 3 shocking surprises in store for LA Rams fans in 2024

Spoiler I: Wow, the LA Rams defensive front is really getting after it

There has been a great deal of conversations of who will not be playing in the LA Rams defensive front in 2024. So, for a change of pace, why not reverse the polarity of the defensive front and talk about who WILL be lining up across the line of scrimmage on the defensive side of the football.

Even as the team is facing a brand new season, the roster welcomes back NT Kobie Turner (who will line up as a 3-tech DT in 2024), NT Bobby Brown III, DE Desjuan Johnson, DL Cory Durden, DL Larrell Murchison, OLBs Michael Hoecht and Byron Young, and even ILBs Ernest Jones and Christian Rozeboom. While they may not strike you as a Top-10 defense front, the oldest among the group are 27-year-old veterans DT Larrell Murchison and LB Christian Rozeboom.

And based on the new additions to this roster, both players are in a fight for their lives to keep a spot in the team's roster this season.

The core of the defense consists of Kobie Turner (25), Byron Young (26), Bobby Brown III (23), Desjuan Johnson (24), and Michael Hoecht (26). If they were the only players projected to get significant number of defensive snaps in 2024, we would have plenty of reasons for concerns.

Here comes the cavalry

The Rams front office may not have been actively shopping for defensive help in the free agency market, but they carpet bombed the defense during and after the 2024 NFL Draft. Just check out the list of rookies added to the team who have a better than 50 percent chance to see playing time in the defensive rotation this year:

• OLB Jared Verse - 23 years old
• DT Braden Fiske - 24 years old
• DT Tyler Davis - 23 years old
• OLB Brennan Jackson - 23 years old
• ILB Omar Speights - 23 years old
• DE Anthony Goodlaw - 23 years old

Of course, there are plenty of other defenders who have a shot at contributing this season. But the busload of rookies who will see playing time in 2024 is vastly underrated.

If there is one word that most adeptly describes the defense for 2024, I would expect energetic to be a solid candidate. With nine young veterans returning, and as many as six new rookies joining forces, this group is bursting with passion and energy. With all of that energy and youth, look for the defensive front to play with a ton of quick, unpredictable, and impassioned production. After all, this is a young group that knows no fear, and has almost limitless stamina.

The results from 2023 were clear. NT Kobie Turner and OLB Byron Young leveraged their bonds of friendship and competitive spirit to push one another to new heights. They were the most productive rookies from the class of 2023.

Now, the team has two more pairs of rookies who can match or surpass that 2023 production: Jared Verse and Braden Fiske, as well as Brennan Jackson and Tyler Davis. Training camp is more than putting up solid practices and impressing coaches. It's about forging bonds with teammates and learning how to blend individual skills into a tsunami of group force that imposes it's will on all opponents.

The Rams roster for 2024 is bursting with young, hungry, and passionate players who are committed to raising the bar of excellence for future defenses. As such, look for them to really get after it from the first snap of the football until the final whistle of the final game of the season.

As always, thank you for reading.