Why ILBs may no longer be the weakest link of the Rams defense

It is an easy thing to do to view the performance of the Los Angeles Rams' recent history at the inside linebacker position and draw the wrong conclusions about the quality of play for the 2025 NFL season. The team has seldom invested in upgrading or even uplifting the Rams' roster at the position. And when a star does emerge from the group, his tenure on the team is short-lived.

The Rams' defense was led by an incredible performance by ILB Cory Littleton in 2018, the year that Littleton earned Pro Bowl honors. But by 2020, he was suiting up and competing for the Las Vegas Raiders. So too did the team add All-Pro ILB Bobby Wagner in 2022. But in 2023, Wagner returned to the Seattle Seahawks to put up 183 tackles. His understudy, Ernest Jones, stepped up into the starting role in 2023, but was traded away to the Tennessee Titans for a six-pack of soda and a bag of pretzels.

So, no, the Rams have no track record to give fans confidence that the inside linebacker position is valued. But that tide is changing. How do I know?

(3) - Rams reinvesting into ILBs foreshadows the future

The Los Angeles Rams are not known for investing in the ILB position since hiring Sean McVay to take over as head coach in 2017. Whether the position was not viewed as vital to a successful defense, or the team simply believed that collegiate inside linebackers could be coached up to meet the level of play necessary for the NFL, is not easily determined. What we do know is that it's been an infrequently addressed position in recent drafts, including:

• 2018 - ILB Micah Kiser | Round 5
• 2019 - ILB Dakota Allen | Round 7 *
• 2020 - ILB Clay Johnston | Round 7 **
• 2021 - ILB Ernest Jones | Round 3
• 2025 - ILB Chris 'Pooh' Paul Jr. | Round 5

* Dakota Allen signed with the Oakland Raiders practice squad in 2019, and did not sign on the Rams practice squad.
** Clay Johnston signed with the Carolina Panthers practice squad in 2020, and did not sign on the Rams practice squad.

The team has had a bit of bad luck in both the 2019 and 2020 NFL Drafts. In both years, the Rams added a raw rookie prospect who simply did not make the cut for the 53-man roster. But on each occasion, the attempt to slide the rookie ILB to the practice squad was intercepted by an offer to sign elsewhere. But things have changed in terms of the team's willingness to invest in the ILB position.

The Rams signed two rookie ILB prospects to the roster in 2024 in Omar Speights and Elias Neal. While Speights rose to start in 2024, Neal was a special-teams contributor. The team lost veteran ILBs Christian Rozeboom and Jake Hummel in the offseason, but restocked the roster by signing veteran ILB Nate Landman, drafting ILB Chris 'Pooh' Paul, Jr., and even signing outstanding UDFA ILB Shaun Dolac.

Suddenly, the team finds itself at a point where the ILB position is as robust as it was in the 2024 training camp before the shocking trade that sent veteran ILB Ernest Jones packing for Nashville, Tennessee. And with that new investment, the position no longer carries an aura of an undervalued, overlooked position on this defense.

(2) - 2024 was an outlier, not the norm

I do not easily write off the 2024 experience as an outlier, but I'm forced to concede the fact that the events that put the defense in a huge deficit to start the season last year were an outlier. The Rams' defense had to learn the new strategies for DC Chris Shula, and the quarterback of the defense was Ernest Jones. Even if you argue that the Rams had planned to part ways with Jones all along, the impact of his trade just before the season started was devastating to the defense.

Jones was the starter, and that fact alone meant that he was the primary defensive play caller. His teammates were familiar with him, his cadence, and his leadership. So losing him at point-blank range forced the entire defense to scramble. While the team had no history of investing heavily in the position, the circumstances surrounding 2024 were anomalous. That is, there is no comparison to the events of 2024 in a normal season.

That having been said, the 2025 season is opening with a far less dramatic flair. The team is already settling on veteran ILB Nate Landman as the starter, and he makes a solid case. He steps foot onto the football field as a 6-foot-3, 238-pound behemoth who has the run-stuffing prowess of a large boulder. And with him stuffing the run, the team may very well be positioned to pair him up with Pooh Paul, a rookie inside linebacker who is adept at run defense, but who brings a defensive back's pass coverage to the position as well.

The Rams have the right pieces to fix the inside linebacker position for 2025.

(1) - Run defense is a priority once more

The Rams' defense was a work-in-progress throughout the 2024 NFL season. While the pass rush and even pass coverage seemed to settle in by season's end, the Achilles' Heel of this defense was exploited by Philadelphia Eagles RB Saquon Barkley. The Rams simply had no answer for him last season. Will the defense shut him down in 2025? That remains to be seen.

But even as the fruits of the team's labor must await game day, it's clear that the team has not taken the porous run defense from last season lightly. The team signed veteran NT Poona Ford and ILB Nate Landman, two veteran defenders with an established reputation for stuffing the run in the past. And the team's willingness to draft DT Tyler Hamilton and ILB Pooh Paul Jr. has doubled up on efforts to reinforce run defense.

The pieces are in place. But like furniture purchased at IKEA, assembly is required. And that is what will take place at the 2025 Rams training camp. You will have a chance to witness that transformation, and we will be keeping you updated all along the way.

As always, thanks for reading.

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