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On March 25, Rams inside linebacker Cory Littleton signed a three-year contract with the Las Vegas Raiders. Littleton was the Rams’ primary inside linebacker in 2019, leading the team in tackles and was often used as the only inside linebacker on the field. He was arguably the most important player on the Rams’ defense in 2018 and 2019 besides Aaron Donald.
To fill the major void Littleton was leaving behind, the Rams brought in – *checks notes* – nobody?
The current group of inside linebackers is literally last year’s group without Littleton and Bryce Hager, who also saw a few starts last year. The trio of Micah Kiser, Kenny Young, and Troy Reeder was tasked with filling the void left by Littleton. On paper, things may not seem that bad. Kiser is stuffing the stat sheet with tackles and even picked up an NFC Defensive Player of the Week award, while Reeder recorded three sacks against the Washington Football Team.
But anyone really paying attention could see the cracks in this defense, the majority of the cracks revolved around the inside linebackers. They’ve struggled to contain running backs – bad running backs – at times this season. They allowed the New York Giants to rush for a season-high 135 yards despite having the worst rushing attack in the league, and they allowed J.D. McKissic to plod his way to 46 receiving yards on six catches.
In Week 6, against an actual backfield led by Raheem Mostert, the Rams were torched in the first half, giving up a quick 21 points they were never able to come back from. Many of the big plays came from Mostert and tight end George Kittle, two positions that a guy like Littleton would have been asked to handle in the past.
Kiser and Reeder have shown the occasional flash of greatness. But both players have their flaws, and those flaws have been exploited heavily by opposing teams. It says a lot that Reeder barely saw the field a week after recording three sacks against Washington. Meanwhile, it’s hard to really have anything positive to say about Young’s performance this season, and he’s the guy that Reeder can’t beat out on the depth chart.
The lack of production at the inside linebacker position shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who’s been paying attention. Littleton was one of the best players on the defense last season and was extremely valuable during the 2018 Super Bowl run. The trio of linebackers had collectively proved nothing in the NFL before this season. They still haven’t proved much of anything.
Some of the blame should fall on the current group of linebackers, as they have been disappointing through six games. But what was really expected of this group? Kiser has been a solid tackler who has struggled in pass coverage. Essentially, he’s been exactly what many would have expected him to be. Young has been even less productive in pass coverage than Kiser, Reeder is completely useless in that aspect of the defense.
Les Snead, Sean McVay and the brain trust of decision-makers in the front office should take far more of the blame for this situation. They chose to spend money on the defensive line instead of at linebacker in free agency. They chose to make luxury draft picks such as Cam Akers and Van Jefferson instead of addressing the position on Day 2 of the NFL Draft.
They basically ignored the position on Day 3 of the draft, as well. They drafted a tight end in the fourth round, so they can add a fourth-stringer to literally the deepest position on the roster. They finally grabbed an inside linebacker with the 234th pick in the draft, selecting Baylor product Clay Johnston. He didn’t make the team. The Rams drafted as many kickers in the 2020 NFL Draft as they did inside linebackers.
One saving grace about the situation going into the season was that many just expected the Rams to simply not use inside linebackers much. While Littleton played almost every snap in Wade Phillips’ defense, they often used an extra safety in a hybrid linebacker role nex t to Littleton, so the secondary inside linebacker only saw the field when a run was expected. But that has not been the case under new defensive coordinator Brandon Staley. Kiser and Young spend a ton of time on the field together, even on passing downs.
The 2020 Rams are using inside linebackers more than the 2019 Rams did, yet they have far less talent at the position. Snead had to have known that Staley planned to implement two inside linebackers quite often. But rather than address the position in free agency or the draft, they chose to roll with what they had. What they have is not cutting it, and they deserve more of the blame for these results than the players do. They needed help, and they didn’t get it.
Not filling this void is one of the biggest blunders of the Les Snead era. It was an obvious hole, and it was never addressed. We’ll see if the Rams choose to make a move before the trade deadline to improve the group.
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