The Los Angeles Rams‘ linebacker room has its own personality, built on grit and earned reps rather than draft pedigree. Nate Landman, Omar Speights, Troy Reeder, and Shaun Dolac all walked in as undrafted free agents, and they have turned that shared origin into a practical advantage for Los Angeles.
These are players who win with technique, effort, and special teams work, and the staff has rewarded that reliability with real roles and real snaps.
Rams fans were displeased when Troy Reeder kept a 53 spot over fifth-rounder Chris “Pooh” Paul Jr, and the reaction was loud and immediate. The staff’s thinking is cleaner than the noise suggests. Reeder is a proven veteran who knows Chris Shula’s system and brings special teams reliability and assignment discipline, which matters a lot with Michael Hoecht gone.
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Teams need a steady veteran in that room, someone who can walk younger players through checks and alignments on game day. For the coaches, that familiarity and steadiness outweighs upside on a rookie when the roster math is tight.
Shaun Dolac’s climb this summer says everything about how the Rams evaluate competition. Dolac beat out the rest for a 53-man spot, not because of a flash play or a highlight reel, but because he was consistently clean in assignment football, dependable on special teams, and ready to step into sub packages without creating matchup problems.
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That is the exact profile Sean McVay and the defensive coaches prioritize when roster math is tight and every spot has to contribute.
On game days, this group changes how the defense functions. Reeder and Landman bring veteran context and assignment savvy, Speights brings snap-to-snap motor, and Dolac gives the room younger energy and downhill tackling that fits the run and short zone packages.
Having multiple UDFA linebackers who can rotate smoothly means the Los Angeles Rams can hide inexperience, save payroll, and spend resources elsewhere on the roster where splash moves matter more.
What to watch early in the season is straightforward. Nate Landman was taking defensive playcaller reps in camp, so he’s likely the starter with Speights.
The sub-packages with Reeder on the field should be slim if at all. Coach McVay leans on him a lot in special teams, so be on the lookout for him and Dolac in those moments.
If Dolac racks up consistent ST reps and sees a gradual bump in defensive reps on third down and in dime, he will have done what Landman, Speights, and Reeder already did; he will have earned his spot the old-fashioned way, by proving he can be counted on when the whistle blows.