Ochaun Mathis made his debut for the Los Angeles Rams in Week 5 against the Philadelphia Eagles after missing the first four games of the season because of a knee injury. Even though Mathis played limited snaps and didn’t record a stat, Sean McVay liked what he saw from the rookie pass rusher.
“I thought it was good to be able to get his feet wet,” McVay said. “He played a handful of snaps. There were some rush situations where you could see the length and the overall ability. It was obviously a great challenge with Jalen (Hurts) doing such a good job of being able to extend and create some things off schedule. I think you got to take into account that that was the first time he had even been in pads as a Ram this past week. Didn’t play in any preseason games and so thought it was a good step in the right direction. Definitely some learning opportunities, but (OLBs coach) Joe Coniglio does a great job with that room as a whole and it was good to get Ochaun back out there.”
By the end of Sunday’s loss to the Eagles, Mathis had logged only 10 defensive snaps for the Rams. Mathis did have a couple of snaps where he was able to get into the backfield, only for Jalen Hurts to extend plays for the Eagles.
The Rams are desperate for production off of the edge, with Aaron Donald and Byron Young being the only consistent pass rushers on the field. Michael Hoecht isn’t generating any pressure and the other depth options aren’t making much of a difference with their opportunities.
After missing the majority of training camp and the preseason, the Rams are going to ease Mathis into the defense. But considering that the Rams made fellow rookie edge rusher Nick Hampton inactive for Mathis in Week 5, it’s clear they want to see what they have in the sixth-round rookie moving forward.