These 7 Rams UDFAs have the best chance to make the team

II: ILB Omar Speights, LSU

While the LA Rams seem to have surrendered the emphasis on the inside linebacker position that the team held under former DC Raheem Morris, there is clearly an interest in pairing up starting defensive leader Ernest Jones with a competent teammate. In 2023, the closest true tandem partner to Jones was ILB Christian Rozeboom, a player who started just five games for the Rams.

Former LSU rookie inside linebacker Omar Speights could prove to be a diamond in the rough for this defense. Standing 6-foot-1 and weighing 235 pounds, Speights is a solid and powerful prospect who is already bursting with NFL-standard size, power, and physicality. But what makes him an ideal fit in this defense is the fact that he has competed in a high-profile collegiate defense, and performed quite well in that role.

Let's face it, Speights is going up two or more Rams veteran inside linebackers who have yet to earn the right to start next to Ernest Jones. While Rozeboom is likely the stiffest competition that Speights will run up against, there is plenty of room for Omar Speights to claim a roster spot on this team.

Right now, even in the early days of OTAs, if anything were to happen to starting ILB Ernest Jones, I see Speights as the best player on the roster to step up in his place. That is saying quite a lot but that is the most likely resolution based on what we have seen out of the other inside linebackers in previous years.

Speights is a jack of all trades, master of none type of ILB prospect. I'm not saying that he will not master any or all of the responsibilities of the ILB position. Rather, he has enough proficiency in all areas to be the ideal partner with Jones, and as his experience grows, so too will his forte at the ILB role.

Perhaps I see Speights as a player who can fill the team's need simply due to the urgency of that need, and I concede that point. But this team must find a true inside linebacker to pair up with Ernest Jones, and right now, Omar Speights is the best candidate for the job.