Tag: Kobie Turner

Brian Baldinger: Rams might have ‘best young defensive line’ in NFL

Brian Baldinger broke down the Rams’ defensive line in his latest video, led by standout rookie Jared Verse

How does a team overcome the loss of a future Hall of Fame defensive tackle? Apparently, it’s by drafting well and loading up the defensive line with explosive young players. That’s how the Los Angeles Rams have handled he departure of Aaron Donald, who retired from the NFL in March.

The additions of Kobie Turner, Byron Young, Jared Verse and Braden Fiske have paid dividends already, as evidenced by the Rams’ 27 total pressures against the 49ers’ offensive line on Sunday afternoon.

That quartet of pass rushers has lived up to the hype and people are taking notice. NFL Network’s Brian Baldinger broke down the Rams’ defensive line in his latest video on Monday and he raved about the group Les Snead has assembled, focusing mostly on the talent of Verse.

Baldinger highlighted Verse’s power off the edge and his ability to collapse the pocket as quickly as he does, as well as his burst into the backfield as a run defender on multiple occasions.

“You’ve got to watch the movement right here, and the sheer power, getting right to Brock Purdy time and time again. He was the best pass rusher on the field, I thought,” Baldinger said.

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That’s high praise for a rookie who was playing on the same field as Nick Bosa, Leonard Floyd, Byron Young and Kobie Turner.

As a whole, Baldinger believes the Rams’ front could be the best young defensive line in the entire NFL.

“Jared Verse, showed me, along with Kobie Turner and Braden Fiske and Byron Young, this might be the best young defensive line in all of football right now,” he said.

The best part for the Rams is that this is just the beginning. These four players have only suited up for three games together, and they’re only going to get better as they continue to gain experience.

Watch: The Rams pranked players by digging up embarrassing old photos of them

The Rams asked players to sign embarrassing old photos of themselves and their reactions were spectacular

Everyone has embarrassing old photos of themselves buried in albums on Facebook, including NFL players. Those photos are being dug up by social media admins in what’s become the latest trend online.

And the videos are hilarious.

The Rams jumped aboard the viral trend by surprising their players with old photos and asking them for autographs. Their reactions are predictably priceless.

“How’d y’all find this?! Did y’all go to Facebook?” an astonished Jordan Whittington asked.

Kyren Williams’ reaction to a photo of his younger self rocking sunglasses was equally good: “Man, I look good!”

Kamren Curl was not as excited to see an old mirror selfie of himself wearing an American Eagle T-shirt.

“I ain’t going to show nobody this,” he said, hiding the photo from the camera.

Kobie Turner: “Come on, that’s so bad! I’m not going to lie, the bowtie was kind of swaggy, though.”

Can confirm, Kobie.

They actually hit Whittington with two old photos, the second of which was the best of the entire video. It was a photo of him posing with a saxophone in a car, a saxophone he actually still owns.

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Watch: Mic’d-up Kobie Turner shows why he was voted a Rams captain

Kobie Turner was mic’d up against the Lions and he’s a clear leader on defense despite only being a second-year player

It’s rare for a player to be voted a team captain in only his second season, especially for a defensive lineman. Kobie Turner earned that honor this year when his teammates chose him as one of the Rams’ captains and in Week 1, it was easy to see why he was so deserving of that recognition.

In his first game as a captain, Turner was mic’d up. He’s a vocal leader on the field and off it, bringing passion and a relentless motor to every single play. Turner got the defense fired up with a pregame speech and was always talking to his teammates throughout the game, whether it was after a teammate’s sack or John Johnson III’s interception.

The highlight of the whole mic’d-up video, though was Bobby Brown III once again pointing out how Turner sits like an old man on the bench. Turner even got rookie Tyler Davis to sit like him and cross his legs, which was quite funny.

Look: Kobie Turner rocks Aaron Donald shirt, Byron Young wears Eric Dickerson jersey before SNF

Kobie Turner and Byron Young honored two Rams legends with their pre-game outfits in Detroit

Kobie Turner and Byron Young arrived for Sunday Night Football in Detroit by honoring two Rams legends: Aaron Donald and Eric Dickerson. They had two awesome pre-game outfits at Ford Field before facing the Lions.

Turner wore a T-shirt with Donald’s photo on it, keeping No. 99’s spirit in the building despite Donald retiring in March. Young was wearing a throwback Dickerson jersey, a beloved jersey among fans in Los Angeles.

Turner learned a lot from Donald during their one season together in 2023 and Young is obviously a big fan of Dickerson.

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Sean McVay praises Kobie Turner’s leadership after DT was voted captain

Sean McVay took time to talk about team captain Kobie Turner’s growth as a person from Year 1 to Year 2.

Kobie Turner was one of the biggest surprises last season when he was one of the NFL’s leaders in rookie sacks. Praised all around the league, Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell made sure to praise Turner before last year’s wild-card matchup.

This Sunday, Turner takes the field in Detroit again with a more mature mindset and personal growth in both his skills and influence.

Sean McVay made mention of this in a recent press conference after Turner was voted a team captain in just his second season.

“I think maturity in general,” McVay said. “He got voted by his peers as a captain and there was a lot of support, almost unanimously for him. I wasn’t surprised, but he’s got a nice natural way about himself [and is] incredibly secure in himself. I also think when you are knighted by your teammates, that almost empowers you a little bit more where you get that affirmation. His communication, his command, his ownership, his ability to positively push his teammates, those are the things that I’ve seen. I’ve seen a guy that came in where he was a little bit behind in training camp because of a soft tissue injury that he had early on that limited his opportunities. I think he’s hitting his stride at the right time and I couldn’t say enough good things about Kobie Turner.”

Turner was a PFWA All-Rookie selection last season and nearly won Defensive Rookie of the Year, recording nine sacks, 16 QB hits and eight tackles for a loss.

Rams announce 5 team captains for 2024 season

The Rams will have five team captains this season, including Kobie Turner and Quentin Lake

The Los Angeles Rams’ roster has changed dramatically in the last two years but most of the same leaders remain. Heading into the 2024 campaign, Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp and Rob Havenstein will all be captains once again, representing the offense.

On defense, there are two new faces who have been voted captains: Kobie Turner and Quentin Lake. That’s some high praise for the two young defenders, who are each entering just their second seasons as starters – and for Turner, his second season as a pro.

Jordan Fuller held a similar honor when he was just a second-year player for the Rams and was voted a captain, so this isn’t a team that’s afraid to appoint young guys as leaders if they’ve earned that title.

Stafford, Kupp, Havenstein, Turner and Lake are the only five captains this year, going without a special teams captain in 2024; Ben Skowronek held that honor last season.

Rams DT Kobie Turner returns to team drills for first time in camp

Kobie Turner has been limited to individual drills in camp but he took part in 11-on-11 for the first time Thursday

Injuries have been an issue for the Los Angeles Rams in training camp but they got some good news on that front Thursday. Kobie Turner, who has been nursing a groin injury that he suffered before camp, took part in team drills for the first time.

Up to this point, he had been limited to only individual drills, but he was on the field for the 11-on-11 session. Braden Fiske has been outstanding along the defensive line but pairing him with Turner will make the Rams even more impressive up front.

Turner is coming off a nine-sack season as a rookie in 2023 and is poised for an even bigger performance in Year 2, becoming the focal point of the defensive line with Aaron Donald retired.

Rams only have one player in CBS Sports’ top 100 for 2024

Only one Rams player made CBS Sports’ top 100 for the 2024 season, but four others were honorable mentions

The Los Angeles Rams may not be the star-studded team that they were in 2018 and 2021, but this is a group capable of making a deep run in the playoffs. While they don’t have Jalen Ramsey, Odell Beckham Jr., Aaron Donald or Bobby Wagner anymore, the Rams are a well-balanced team with talent across the roster.

They’re just lacking star power, as evidenced by CBS Sports’ list of the top 100 players in the NFL for 2024. The writer, Pete Prisco, only put one Rams player in the top 100 and he was still pretty low on the list.

Puka Nacua was the only Rams player to make it, coming in at No. 66.

He surprised a lot of people with his impressive rookie season, catching 105 passes with six touchdowns. He averaged 14.2 yards per catch, disputing the notion that he isn’t a big-play receiver. (Last season: NR)

Nacua fully deserves to be in the top 100 after the spectacular rookie season he had in 2023, breaking all kinds of records for a first-year receiver. If he continues to play well this season, he’ll surely crack the top 50 on next year’s list.

Though Nacua was the only Rams player to make the top 100, Los Angeles did have several honorable mentions who were close to being chosen by Prisco. Kobie Turner, Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp and Kyren Williams were all honorable mentions, along with about 40 other NFL players who just missed out on the top 100.

It’s surprising that Stafford wasn’t selected in the top 100, especially considering 15 other quarterbacks made it – including Kirk Cousins (98), Jordan Love (87), Brock Purdy (85) and Jared Goff (76). Stafford didn’t put up huge numbers last season, but he was playing like one of the best quarterbacks in the league.

Why Kobie Turner is poised to have a monster year in 2024

Kobie Turner, the Rams’ third-round gem, is back for Year 2 and it will be a year Rams fans won’t forget.

One of the many surprises in the Rams’ 2023 draft class, Kobie Turner wasted no time making his presence known on the football field. As a rookie, Turner displayed the three “As” that define a game-changing player. Ability, availability, and attitude.

In 2023, Turner played every single game, putting in four regular-season starts, and was one of the pillars behind the team’s late-season surge. He put up nine sacks and 45 total tackles. His nine sacks topped the NFL’s rookie leaderboards, being ahead of teammate Byron Young by one sack.

However, Turner is now the focus of the Rams’ interior defensive line. With Aaron Donald’s retirement and the unknown production of Braden Fiske, Turner should expect more double-team assignments early in the season but with Young and Jared Verse’s ability to fly off the edge, opportunities to finish plays will present themselves naturally.

Looking at Turner’s film, he generates a fair amount of sacks and pressures by cutting outside when an edge rusher crashes the inside. Expect DC Chris Shula to call more stunts on passing downs. Turner is also a three-down lineman, being just one out of 12 players with 20 pressures and 20 run stops in 2023.

Turner is a bully on the interior and has made All-Pro offensive linemen look silly on a consistent basis. He has a great punch, low center of gravity and more times than not, he’s lower than the run blockers he faces and as we all know, low man wins.

With a defensive coordinator who understands pass rushes and a new defensive line coach in Giff Smith who has a proven track record in developing defensive lineman, Turner has all the tools at his disposal for a massive 2024.

Lastly, Turner’s first year and career trajectory is mirroring the career of Aaron Donald. Turner’s numbers are scary similar to Donald’s rookie year and considering the mentoring Turner received under the three time Defensive Player of the Year, mentally, Turner is on par with a multi-year veteran,

His physical development benefitted from this offseason. 2023 was about building up Turner’s draft stock, 2024 is about player improvement. With less distractions, more experience and an arsenal of pass rushers flanking him, Turner will establish himself as one of the league’s best this season.

Perhaps an All-Pro selection is calling his name.

 

Torry Holt doesn’t expect Rams defense to fall off without Aaron Donald

Torry Holt shared his thoughts on the Rams defense with Aaron Donald gone, pointing to a handful of players who need to step up

When you lose one of the greatest defensive players in NFL history, there’s expected to be at least some drop-off on that side of the ball. The Los Angeles Rams will soon experience life without Aaron Donald for the first time since 2013 and it’s understandable to think the defense won’t be as dominant as it was in recent years.

Rams legend Torry Holt doesn’t expect the Rams defense to suddenly fall off a cliff, though. He believes they have the players in place to maintain a high level of play, assuming their young defenders step up and continue to get better.

“I think the expectations are the same,” Holt said on “The Herd” Friday. “I think that’s Sean McVay’s message. Yes, they have a new coordinator in (Chris) Shula, but Sean McVay has to manage so many things, players being plucked but also coaches being plucked year in and year out, but they continue to do a really good job of drafting and developing players. Kobie Turner’s gotta be good – gotta be better. He had a heck of a rookie season. He’s gotta be better. (Bobby) Brown’s gotta be better. They got two rookies from Florida State, (Braden) Fiske, as well as Jared Verse, who has to step up.”

Holt is well aware that Donald is irreplaceable. The Rams can’t simply sign one player or draft someone to take his place seamlessly. However, he believes as a group, the Rams have the pieces to overcome his departure.

“Now, no one replaces Aaron Donald,” Holt said. “Collectively, though, these guys have to play at a very high level. What I love about this Rams young front: They drafted these guys that they’re playing. Again, showing confidence that they have in their players and then their players deliver.”

If Turner continues to improve, Byron Young steps up and gets better as a pass rusher and the two rookies, Fiske and Verse, both become Day 1 starters, the Rams will be in good shape. There will probably be some early growing pains in the post-Donald era, but they sunk a lot of assets into the defensive front in the last two years and the hope is that it pays off in 2024.