These 2 Rams rookies are starting to flex alongside Aaron Donald

Turner is showing up big so far

When the LA Rams opted to draft defensive lineman Kobie Turner with the 89th overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft, few expected him to show up as a nose tackle for the LA Rams defensive front. But that is where he buttered his bread at Wake Forest, and that is where is is showing up on the highlight footage for the Rams defense.

Turner has been a surprise to some. After all, this 6-foot-2 288-pound defensive behemoth was a promising defensive lineman who was not even invited to the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine. Still, he was identified as the type of defensive line who the LA Rams were most certainly interested in working with. So how is it that the Rams had so much fervor in selecting Turner when the NFL Scouting Combine snubbed him?

The reason is that Kobie Turner embodied all of the #DAWGWORK principles that has become the trademark of LA Rams DL Coach Eric Henderson long before he was chosen by the LA Rams in the 2023 NFL Draft. He has the Discipline, Attitude, Work-ethic, and Grit that are the prerequisites for a defensive lineman to succeed in the NFL and to star for the LA Rams.

Kobie Turner is a uniquely gifted NFL NT

Just check out the way Turner bounces around off offensive linemen until he makes the tackle:

Kobie Turner is the type of player who is so easy to cheer for. He has one of the toughest yet most important roles on the Rams defense. He is the middle of the defense, the guy who gets plenty of attention from the offensive linemen, and yet is more than happy to gobble blockers to give his teammates an opportunity to make a play.

And yet, more and more frequently we find Turner splitting blockers to stuff the run, pressure the quarterback, or get a solid tackle in the game. He is currently splitting time with teammate Bobby Brown III. But even on a rotational basis, he has five tackles, 1.0 quarterback sacks, and 2.0 quarterback hits.

He may not be a replacement for former nose tackle Greg Gaines. But he has already shown the ability to get after the quarterback from the nose tackle position. Keep Kobie Turner on your radar, because if he is this good just starting out in the NFL, he will be worth talking about at season's end.