Micah Kiser – Page 4 – Syndication Server

Rams like Micah Kiser, but linebacker will be ‘an open competition’

Brandon Staley spoke highly of Micah Kiser, but he won’t be handed a starting job at inside linebacker.

There may not be a position group in the NFL with less proven talent than the Rams’ inside linebacker unit. After losing Cory Littleton in free agency, they’ve been left with a host of players who barely have any starting experience in the NFL.

In fact, Troy Reeder and Travin Howard are the only two linebackers left who took a single defensive snap for the Rams last season, though neither of them played more than 300 individually.

In a normal offseason, they’d be getting ready to compete for starting jobs during OTAs next week, but that competition will have to wait until minicamp and training camp eventually take place at some point.

And when the Rams do hit the field, it’s going to be “an open competition,” according to defensive coordinator Brandon Staley.

“I think it’s competitive. You’ve got to let things play out. Inside linebacker, in particular, there aren’t very many guys that have played a lot of football there, so that’s going to be an open competition,” Staley said on a conference call with reporters Thursday. “You’ve gotten glimpses of those guys. Troy Reeder, T-Howard and Kenny Young, you’ve gotten glimpses of them as pro players. I know we have high regard for Micah Kiser within our building. He had that unfortunate injury in the preseason. We’ve just got to let the position sort itself out when things go live.”

It’s not surprising that Staley singled out Kiser as someone the Rams like. He was supposed to be a starter next to Littleton last season, but he suffered a pectoral injury in the preseason, which landed him on IR and forced him to miss his second season in the NFL.

Kiser has still never taken a defensive snap as a pro, but he should be considered the frontrunner to win one of the two inside linebacker jobs. Howard would be a nice complement next to him, given his range and coverage ability as a former safety. But as Staley said, things will sort themselves out when practices start.

As for the outside linebacker spot, Staley didn’t share as many details. He did say that players such as Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, Samson Ebukam, Jachai Polite, Natrez Patrick and Justin Lawler will be fighting for spots on defense. Staley also said he was excited to reunite with Leonard Floyd and add Terrell Lewis in the draft, both of whom fit the mold of his prototypical edge rusher.

“On the edge, excited to add Leonard and Terrell Lewis. And then you’ve got Obo and Samson, Jachai Polite, Natrez Patrick, Justin Lawler – those guys will be fighting for positions,” he said.

With a shortened and modified offseason, it’s going to be hard to sort out these positions on defense because players are only meeting on Zoom and working out individually. So when practices do resume, the Rams will have to study their linebackers quickly and determine who the best players are.

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Why the Rams didn’t make linebacker a priority this offseason

The Rams are gambling on inexperience at inside linebacker, but it’s not completely unexpected.

Free agency and the draft came and went, and yet the only addition the Los Angeles Rams made at inside linebacker came in the seventh round when they selected Clay Johnston out of Baylor. And even that wasn’t much of a move to bolster one of the weakest units on the roster, considering Johnston is coming off a torn ACL suffered in October.

The Rams’ reluctance to bring in linebacker help after losing Cory Littleton in free agency has been somewhat surprising, but there are a few reasons for it. Not only do they put little value in the inside linebacker position, but they also have the defensive backs to help fill the roles of linebackers in the middle of the defense.

Most of their approach stems from the front office’s perceived value of linebackers, which continues a trend that began when Wade Phillips came to Los Angeles in 2017.

Dating back to his time in Denver, Phillips rarely made inside linebacker a high priority in his 3-4 schemes. The Broncos didn’t break the bank or spend high draft picks on inside linebackers when Phillips was there, rolling with the likes of Todd Davis, Danny Trevathan and Brandon Marshall.

In Los Angeles, the Rams traded away Alec Ogletree after extending him, and were content with Cory Littleton and Mark Barron as their inside linebackers. Littleton was undrafted and Barron was a former safety-turned-linebacker.

New Rams defensive coordinator Brandon Staley never coached under Phillips, but it seems Staley and the Rams see eye-to-eye on the value of linebackers.

Rather than paying up to keep Littleton in Los Angeles, the Rams let him leave in free agency. He signed a three-year, $35.25 million deal with the Raiders, which included only $22 million guaranteed. Essentially, it was a two-year deal worth $11 million per season – very affordable, even by the Rams’ standards.

The Rams chose to put their money elsewhere. They re-signed Michael Brockers to a three-year deal worth $24 million, and gave A’Shawn Robinson $17 million for two years. Leonard Floyd also signed a $10 million deal for the 2020 season.

Whether they were smart to let Littleton leave is up for debate, but their secondary has a lot to do with that decision. Last season, Littleton was the only linebacker to play more than 27% of the defensive snaps. He hardly ever came off the field, staying out there for 93.8% of the plays.

The reason Los Angeles was able to get by with really only one starting linebacker is the depth it had at safety. Taylor Rapp and Eric Weddle handled the bulk of the snaps once John Johnson was lost for the year, but Marqui Christian played 33.5% of the time, too. He was the third safety on the field in “big nickel” and dime sets, essentially playing the role of a second linebacker. Rapp also took on that responsibility at times, too.

The Rams’ selections in the draft this year suggest they plan to keep using three-safety sets often, using players such as Terrell Burgess and Jordan Fuller to fill that role. Burgess and Fuller can both play free safety, which will allow Johnson and Rapp to play closer to the line of scrimmage as a linebacker would.

That personnel grouping is much more effective against the pass than a traditional 3-4 package would be, getting five or six defensive backs on the field. Granted, it does leave the Rams somewhat susceptible to the run, but Rapp and Johnson are both excellent tacklers, and Burgess is no slouch in that area, either.

Nickel packages have become the new base defense in the NFL, and that holds true with the Rams. We know they’ll be using a lot of five- and six-DB sets, but who will be the linebackers? That’s an entirely different question that’s far tougher to answer.

The candidates are Micah Kiser, Travin Howard, Kenny Young and Troy Reeder. Kiser has the inside track to a starting job, since he was set to be the second linebacker next to Littleton last season before injuring his pec, but he’s far from a lock to sit atop the depth chart in September.

Howard saw his playing time increase down the stretch last year, while Young is a former starter for the Ravens. Reeder played the second-most snaps of any Rams inside linebacker last year, but he looked overmatched and was terrible in coverage.

Altogether, those four players have 14 combined starts, and only eight with the Rams (all by Reeder). It’s a group Les Snead called “very inexperienced,” but one he likes the potential of.

The Rams are clearly taking a pretty significant risk at linebacker in 2020, but it’s mostly because of how frequently they use nickel and dime packages, which takes one linebacker off the field. As long as one player steps up as a reliable starter next season, the Rams should be OK in the middle of their defense. But if they all falter, the second level of L.A.’s defense will be a massive weakness.

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Les Snead evaluates Rams’ ‘very experienced group’ at linebacker

Les Snead knows the Rams lack experience at linebacker, but he has high hopes for the group.

Only one inside linebacker on the Rams played more than a third of the defensive snaps last season. Of course, that player was Cory Littleton, who’s now a member of the Oakland Raiders.

His departure has left the Rams extremely thin at linebacker and lacking notable experience at the position. Troy Reeder played 298 snaps last season, which was second-most among the team’s linebackers. Travin Howard, Micah Kiser and Kenny Young are the other three players who could contribute next season, but only Howard played a single snap on defense for the Rams last year.

Los Angeles doesn’t have the cap space to add a surefire starter in free agency and the draft has players with even less NFL experience than the Rams’ current group of linebackers.

General manager Les Snead isn’t pretending linebacker is a strength in L.A., calling it a “very inexperienced group.”

“You always look internally first, right? Micah Kiser got an injury so you haven’t seen him play yet. Troy Reeder, a surprise starter has a lot of playtime. And then Travin Howard down the stretch last year was getting on the field. So it’s a very inexperienced group – even Kenny Young has experience, but with another team,” he said this week. “So with us, a very inexperienced group internally. We have solid to good to high hopes for this group and we’ve got to do our best to develop them and also look in the draft to see, hey, can you add a complementary piece to go with the group. And even if you do that, that human being will probably be inexperienced, as well. Could be talented but inexperienced. But it is going to be an inexperienced group for us, but we did like the fact that a lot of those players plus draftees have the chance to become solid to good to very good players while they get experience.”

It’s not exactly a glowing endorsement from Snead, but the group does have potential. Young is a former starter for the Ravens, and Kiser was projected to be the No. 2 linebacker next to Littleton last season before he suffered a pectoral injury. Reeder may have gotten playing time, but he really struggled in coverage and looked out of place as a starter.

Howard is the wild card in this group because of his athleticism and potential in the Rams’ scheme. He was adept in coverage late in the 2019 season, even tipping a pass to cause an interception against the Cardinals. He’s not a lock to start by any means, but he has a great deal of upside entering 2020.

Snead didn’t mention adding a veteran linebacker, probably because the Rams don’t have the money to. Instead, they’ll look to the draft where players such as Akeem Davis-Gaither, Troy Dye, Malik Harrison, Joe Bachie and a handful of others could be targets at some point.

But as Snead said, a rookie will be just as experienced, even if he is talented. This group will need to mature quickly if the Rams want to avoid being gashed in the middle of the field.

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Micah Kiser sad to see ‘big brother’ Cory Littleton leave Rams

Micah Kiser says he learned a lot from Cory Littleton.

In the weeks leading up to free agency, it seemed like the Rams would have to make a choice: Cory Littleton or Dante Fowler? It turns out they weren’t able to keep either one as Littleton left to sign with the Raiders and Fowler bolted for Atlanta.

The Rams have options at outside linebacker, especially after signing Leonard Floyd, but inside linebacker looks like one of the weakest spots on the roster. Micah Kiser was in line to start next to Littleton last season before landing on IR with a pectoral injury, a significant blow to the defense. Now, Kiser will likely get a chance to replace Littleton.

It’s bittersweet for Kiser to see Littleton go because of how close the two were over the last two seasons. Kiser mentioned Littleton as a player he’ll miss having around next season, but is happy for him after signing with the Raiders.

“Losing Cory, that’s like a big brother, really,” Kiser said in a recent interview with TheRams.com. “Learned a lot from him, really good guy. Cory was a great dude, but he really earned everything he’s getting. I’m just really happy for him to go to Vegas, which is pretty sweet for him. Being in Vegas, a new stadium, as well – a new kind of branding out there. For him to be out there, it’s really awesome.”

Kiser also mentioned the departure of Todd Gurley as one of the most notable for him, saying Gurley did a lot for the team that went unnoticed by the fans.

“Obviously losing TG, he was really the face of the Rams for a while,” he continued. “Just a really great guy. He really did a lot off the field for a lot of guys to really bring the team together.”

With the Rams’ recent departures, younger players will need to step up. Kiser is one of them, and he’s confident he and the team’s other recent draft picks can carry the torch and be productive in 2020.

“I’ve been saying this, we’ve got a lot of young guys that are looking to step up and have their opportunity and looking forward to it and I’m really optimistic about next year and fans should be, as well,” Kiser said.

Les Snead speaks highly of LB Micah Kiser: ‘Buy stock’ in him

Les Snead says Micah Kiser’s attitude and work ethic are unmatched.

The Rams were heading into last season with Cory Littleton and Micah Kiser penciled in as their starting linebackers. Then, Kiser suffered a pectoral injury that required surgery and was ruled out for the year.

It was a crushing blow to a defense that was seriously lacking talent at linebacker next to Littleton, leaving the Rams to start a combination of Bryce Hager and Troy Reeder the rest of the way.

Heading into the 2020 season, Kiser remains in the mix at linebacker, especially with Littleton set to hit free agency. General manager Les Snead mentioned Kiser on the Rams Revealed podcast as someone to buy stock in because of his work ethic.

“From a conscientiousness standpoint, whatever you’re rating in – I don’t know if ‘Madden’ can give a perfect score – but in conscientiousness and saying, ‘Hey, I’m going to be one of the best linebackers in the Rams organization, I do know this: His vision to be that, the conscientiousness matches that,” Snead said. “I don’t know if there’s been a day he’s missed here. Buy stock in Micah Kiser. Don’t want to interfere with his relationships, but if you have a daughter, see if you can somehow set them up because you just want to buy stock in that man.”

Kiser said recently that he’s healthy and ready to contribute on defense next season. Having two years under his belt now, Kiser is focused on the little things that come with playing the linebacker position.

“Right now, stuff is slowing down,” he said last month. “You can pick little specific things to focus on instead of having such a wide view of the game, you can focus in on more of the little intricacies and little details. So that’s where I’m at right now.”

Kiser was lauded for his football intelligence and character coming out of Virginia, which the Rams loved in him as a prospect. Hopefully he can stay healthy and contribute next season because the Rams need linebacker help in the worst way.

Micah Kiser is healthy, poised to carve out role with Rams in 2020

Micah Kiser missed the entire 2019 season, but he’s in line for a bigger role next season.

Micah Kiser was supposed to be one of the Rams’ starting linebackers last season, but a torn pectoral suffered in the preseason ended his 2019 campaign before it could even get off the ground. He was a player a lot of fans and the coaching staff were excited about, given his physicality and strength against the run.

Now entering his third NFL season, Kiser has yet to take the field on defense in a regular-season game. He played 298 special teams snaps as a rookie in 2018, but the former fifth-round pick hasn’t had an impact with the Rams yet.

That could change in 2020, and hopefully for the Rams’ sake, it does.

Kiser said in a recent Q&A that he’s healthy, which is a good first step as he heads into the all-important third year of his career.

“Yeah, I’m real healthy,” he said. “The injury rate in football, it’s 100%. You’re going to get hurt. So I’m glad I just got it out of the way early in my career.”

It would have benefitted Kiser to play last year and gain some experience on defense, even if it was only in limited action as a first- and second-down defender. He didn’t get that chance due to his pec injury, but he says he learned a lot from watching Cory Littleton and Eric Weddle.

“Right now, I feel like I kind of know what it takes just watching and being around a lot of great pros,” he said. “Being able to be around a Cory Littleton and just seeing his movements on the field and how he plays. Being able to be around an Eric Weddle for a year and just seeing his mental approach to the game. Right now, stuff is slowing down. You can pick little specific things to focus on instead of having such a wide view of the game, you can focus in on more of the little intricacies and little details. So that’s where I’m at right now.”

Kiser is a smart player. He won the Campbell Trophy in 2017, which is recognized as the “Academic Heisman.” His football IQ is something that stood out to Sean McVay and the Rams before the 2018 draft, but he just hasn’t put it all together on the field yet due to better players being above him on the depth chart and obviously injury.

The door is wide open for Kiser to become a starter next season. Littleton is set to become a free agent next month and even if he does return, the Rams have struggled to find a reliable defender to play next to him at inside linebacker.

They went through Bryce Hager, Troy Reeder and Travin Howard last season, none of whom stood out as surefire starters in 2020. With an impressive training camp and continued strong play in the preseason, Kiser can easily emerge as the second-best linebacker on the team – if Littleton is back.

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