Rams finally sign a linebacker (and it's the worst one imaginable)

The Los Angeles Rams' defense was not strong at the inside linebacker position. Midway through the season, starting veteran ILB Troy Reeder fell to injury, forcing the team to promote undrafted inside linebacker Omar Speights to the starting role to finish out the season. As luck would have it, the defense stiffened, showing remarkable progress with Speights on the field.

After the 2024 NFL season concluded, the Rams faced losing ILBs Christian Rozeboom, Jake Hummel, and Troy Reeder to expired contracts. Rozeboom has since signed with the Carolina Panthers. Hummel has signed with the Baltimore Ravens. And Troy Reeder awaits his next team. Thankfully, the chances of Reeder returning to the Rams roster are now less likely.

So what can I share about him quickly?

Well, he's a veteran with 23 starts in the Atlanta Falcons defense.

Quick facts about Nathan Landman

ILB Nathan Landman signed a contract with the Atlanta Falcons after the 2022 NFL Draft. He was seldom used in 2022, but had a breakout season in 2023. As a result, the Falcons re-signed him to a one-year deal for minimal salary to return for 2024. While he did not have as sensational of a season in 2024, he is still a young linebacker with solid upside potential.

Is Landham a presumed starter next to Omar Speights? Perhaps. But he seems more like direct competition with Omar Speights as the run stuffer thumper in the middle of the defense. Standing 6-foot-3 and weighing 238 pounds, Landham brings a load when he makes the tackle. While he missed 8.0 percent of his tackle attempts in 2024, he does have 192 tackles to his credit over the past two seasons.

Per Pro Football Focus, Nathan Landman has a solid run defense grade of 73.9. The problem is that the Rams already have a run stuffer in Omar Speights. In fact, their PFF grades are almost identical, with Speights getting the nod across the board. So is Landman Speights replacement? Not if you want sure-handed tackling.

When it comes to sure-handed tackling, Nathan Landham has missed 9.4 percent of his attempted tackles. Omar Speights has missed just 4.3 percent.

Theoretically, the best type of linebacker to pair with Speights is one who excels at pass coverage while still showing solid rush defense. That isn't Landham, who allowed 21 of 25 passes targeting his receiver to be completed. That's an 84.0 completion rate, which afforded opposing quarterbacks an abysmal rating of 152.4 when targeting him. Landham even allowed 25 targets to yield three touchdowns. That is a TD rate of 12 percent. Yikes.

While he is a better run-stuffer than Christian Rozeboom, is that what the Rams need? If the Rams want open competition for the starting role with Omar Speights, then it makes some sense. But if the plan is to replace Christian Rozeboom, then I'm skeptical. Rozeboom allowed 45 of 56 passes to be completed, a completion rate of 80.4. But quarterback ratings when targeting him were just 106.5. And despite more than twice the number of targets, he only allowed two touchdowns.

Rozeboom would have made more sense to bring back in light of how they compared in terms of pass coverage.

Landman is likely a depth piece, a low-risk veteran added to see if he has enough potential upside to earn a roster spot. He will have a chance to earn a role on special teams and the defense in training camp. But he brings experience. Is that enough? His strengths align with those of Omar Speights.

He is the most experienced linebacker on the Rams roster, but he'll need to perform well in OTAs and camp to make the 53-man roster over the guys who return from 2024. The team had many options. Like the team's repetitive nature at rostering similarly sized rushers at the running back position, the Rams seem to be stuck in a rut at the linebacker position as well.

As always, thanks for reading.

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