One of the Los Angeles Rams‘ most-watched training camp battles heading into the offseason was at linebacker. The team parted ways with starters Ernest Jones ahead of the season and Christian Rozeboom after the season. They re-signed Troy Reeder, who had not started a full NFL season in his career, and added Nate Landman in free agency. Landman stepped into a starting role with the Atlanta Falcons but ultimately lost that job. The Rams also drafted Chris Paul Jr. in the 5th round. Omar Speights stepped up in a big way when Troy Reeder went down with an injury last season.
While all of the above showed promise and potential, going into camp, they were all unproven entities. But the group seems to be taking shape with Landman and Speights rising to the top of the heap through the first week of practices.
Los Angeles Rams Linebacker Battle Gets Clarity After Padded Practice Day 1
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After the Rams’ training camp first padded practices on Monday, Kobie Turner was, in his words, ‘ecstatic’ for what the duo brought to the defense, especially from a run-stopping perspective.
“I mean, talk about the duo of our linebackers right now, Landman and Omar, the way that Landman commands, you know, the huddle, the way that he’s getting punch-out opportunities, the way that they’re fitting up the run. I mean, I’m ecstatic, if you can’t tell already. I’m ecstatic about, you know, what this defense is going to be and ultimately how it’s going to help this team win football games.”
Turner points to the 2024 run defense as a big area of growth for this season.
“At the end of the day, it’s about getting Saquon down,” Turner said. “That’s what we’re going to do a lot better this year. We’ve got to stop the run, on the run.”
Of course, the team is still a long way away from truly defending the run, but Monday’s practice was a rushing-heavy practice, in which Jarquez Hunter earned high praise from McVay.
“You saw Jarquez do an excellent job. He’s heavy, he’s got a great body lean, and even though we’re not truly tackling, you can feel that he is heavy through the hole. He’s got a really good demeanor, man. He just kind of stares a hole through you. He’s continuing to show improvement.”
McVay also had plenty of praise for the defense and singled out Landman. “I think Nate Landman’s leadership is showing.”
And that seems to have shown already. During lighter practices, when most Rams players go without a helmet, Landman has worn his, signaling he will wear the green dot as the team’s defensive communicator.
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