Tag: Samson Ebukam

Strong 2021 finishes could propel these 49ers to big 2022 seasons

Strong second halves in 2021 have these four 49ers poised for big 2022 seasons.

The 49ers got off to a slow start in 2021 for a variety of reasons. One of them was the slow starts of some of their key contributors. As those players rounded into form, so did San Francisco en route to a second NFC championship game appearance in three years.

In 2022 the 49ers’ start may rely on those players to carry over their strong finishes into the new season.

Here are four players who stood out for their success in the latter portion of last season, and how they can make their mark if they pick up in 2022 where they left off last year:

A tale of 2 halves: Samson Ebukam’s 2021 provides optimism for 2022

Samson Ebukam wasn’t very good for the #49ers out of the gate. His 2nd half was a much different story.

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Samson Ebukam’s move to a 4-3 defensive end after four years with the Rams as a 3-4 outside linebacker didn’t get off to a great start with the 49ers. His finish to the 2021 campaign provides a ton of optimism that he could wind up playing a vital role on the 49ers’ defensive line next season.

Ebukam’s four years with Los Angeles weren’t extremely productive, but the expectations for him in his new role were relatively high. He put up 14.0 sacks with the Rams and San Francisco was hopeful they’d get more out of him after signing him to a two-year, $12 million deal with $5 million guaranteed last offseason.

It turns out the position change took a little bit of an adjustment and he got out to a slow start with the 49ers. Through 10 games he had only 11 pressures and 1.0 sacks according to Pro Football Focus. Five of those pressures came in Week 8 in Chicago. With half the season down, Ebukam was on track to actually fall short of his best years in LA.

Then his playing time became more consistent and a switch flipped. Ebukam shined over the team’s final seven regular season games and three playoff contests. In those last 10 games he had at least one pressure in each contest as his total skyrocketed to 34 for the second half of the year. He also notched 8.0 sacks in the last 10 including one in each postseason game.

Ebukam is good, and it showed over the final 10 games. That’s a long enough sample size of consistently strong play to be optimistic he can carry that over into the 2022 campaign. If Ebukam picks up where he left off and puts together a year with 60-plus pressures and double-digit sacks, the 49ers have a chance to once again be the NFL’s most disruptive pass rush.

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49ers DE Samson Ebukam drops Bengals QB Joe Burrow for sack

WATCH: Samson Ebukam pushes Bengals into long field goal try with second sack of the season.

The 49ers defense did a nice job stiffening up in the red zone vs. the Bengals, and did so late in the third quarter thanks to a trio of defensive linemen. Samson Ebukam came up with the sack off the left side, but it was pressure generated by Nick Bosa and Arden Key inside that kickstarted Ebukam’s path to the quarterback. It was Ebukam’s second sack of the season and set up a 46-yard Bengals field goal try that was no good and kept the 49ers’ lead at 20-6.

How Samson Ebukam will fit with 49ers defense

The San Francisco 49ers are getting a lot of help in their pass rush from free agent edge rusher Samson Ebukam.

The 49ers are set to add edge rusher Samson Ebukam on a two-year contract. On the surface the fit isn’t a home run, but a deeper dive on Ebukam and San Francisco’s defense uncovers how the former fourth-round pick could be a major upgrade to a pass rush that needs some help.

Ebukam spent four years as an outside linebacker for the Rams in their 3-4 scheme. The 49ers run a 4-3 front that will put their new pass rusher in a little different role than he played in Los Angeles. This isn’t a move new to San Francisco’s coaching staff though. Dee Ford made a similar transition when he was acquired by the 49ers from Kansas City.

Chances are the 6-3, 245-pound Ebukam won’t be doing a lot of standing up on the 49ers’ defensive line. He’ll step in as a speed rusher in sub packages while Arik Armstead slides to the interior. It should work similarly to how it did in 2019 when Ford was healthy. Whether Ford is healthy enough to suit up in 2021 remains to be seen, but Ebukam should offer a similar skill set as a speed rusher off the edge.

A quick look at the pre-draft workout numbers from the former Eastern Washington standout reveal a superb athlete who should thrive in a four-man front. He’s extremely explosive, with a 10-yard split in the 40-yard dash that ranked in the 87th percentile among outside linebackers and a 4.5 40 time that put him in the 93rd percentile according to Mockdraftable. His 39-inch vertical jump was in the 89th percentile.

The closest athletic comparison to him among defensive players in the MockDraftable database is Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner. The closes athletic comparison to him among all players is running back Adrian Peterson.

San Francisco is getting an elite athlete off the edge who’s yet to miss a game in four years. They’ll also likely be putting Ebukam in spots where his sole job is to get after the quarterback. Defending the run and drifting in coverage may occur every now and then, but ideally he won’t have to do more than rush the passer. His athleticism should allow him to do so from multiple spots though, and in the event Ford isn’t ready by the start of the year or is unavailable during the year, Ebukam should be able to do a pretty good imitation of him.

This deal shouldn’t stop the 49ers from searching for another pass rusher since Ford’s health is such a significant question mark. In fact it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them go that route in the first round of the draft. However, Ebukam will add a ton of athleticism and a clean bill of health to a defensive end group that needs to shine if San Francisco is going to make another Super Bowl run.

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Edge rusher Samson Ebukam agrees to 2-year deal with 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers are set to sign Rams free agent edge rusher Samson Ebukam.

The 49ers are set to add some much-needed pass rush help on the edge. NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero on Monday reported San Francisco and edge rusher Samson Ebukam agreed to terms on a two-year contract worth up to $13.5 million.

Ebukam, 25, was a fourth-round pick out of Eastern Washington by the Rams in the 2017 draft. He spent all four of his NFL seasons with Los Angeles and never missed a game during that span. In 64 games he earned 35 starts and racked up 14.0 sacks, one interception, six pass breakups, six forced fumbles and 16 tackles for loss.

San Francisco can’t officially sign Ebukam until the new league year begins at 1:00pm Pacific Time on Wednesday.

The good, the bad, and the ugly from Seahawks’ Wild Card loss to Rams

The Seattle Seahawks disappointed with a 20-30 loss at Lumen Field – their first playoff defeat at home since 2004 – to the Rams on Sunday.

The Seattle Seahawks’ 2020 season came to a screeching halt on Super Wild Card Weekend with a 30-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams at Lumen Field, thanks to a putrid outing from Russell Wilson and the offense. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer seemed to have no answer for the hard-hitting, speedy Rams defense, while Seattle’s defense looked progressively more exhausted and demoralized as the game clock ticked onward.

One last time, let’s take a look at the good, the bad, and the ugly from the Seahawks’ first home playoff loss since 2004.

THE GOOD

Carlos Dunlap: Seattle’s trade for Carlos Dunlap continued to pay great dividends in the pass rush, creating pressure on the quarterback from the very first snap and posting two pass breakups and three tackles. Dunlap has revolutionized the Seahawks’ pass rush since his arrival and is currently under contract through 2021 – after his performance this year, the team should place a high priority on locking him down for another few seasons.

Jason Myers: The Seahawks’ record-setting kicker grew his streak to 37 straight made field goals, booting a 50-yarder for the team’s first score of the game in the second quarter and a 52-yarder at the beginning of the third quarter. He also nearly forced a fumble on the kickoff following his second field goal, chasing down Rams returner Nsimba Webster and slamming him to the ground at the Los Angeles 41 to jar the ball loose. Although Webster was subsequently ruled down, Seahawks fans were undoubtedly cheered by the effort and toughness that Myers demonstrated in a key situation.

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McVay sheds light on Terrell Lewis’ debut, Samson Ebukam’s lack of snaps

Terrell Lewis played 14 snaps in his NFL debut Sunday, which was more than Samson Ebukam got.

The much-anticipated debut of Terrell Lewis came on Sunday afternoon against Washington after the rookie pass rusher was activated off the non-football injury list after spending four weeks on it. After receiving rave reviews in training camp, fans couldn’t wait to see Lewis on the field in a regular-season game.

And although he didn’t have much of an impact on the game, he did earn more playing time than Samson Ebukam and Justin Hollins, which shouldn’t go unnoticed. Despite his limited action, Lewis left a positive impression on coach Sean McVay.

“I saw some good stuff. He had I want to say around 14 snaps, all of them kind of in our nickel pass-rush situations,” he said. “We know he’s capable of being able to play in our base. Yesterday’s game, we weren’t in a lot of those base packages just based on some of their personnel groupings and just the way that the game kind of unfolded, but I thought Terrell did a good job. I’ve really been impressed watching him just work with Coach Shula. Even just talking to some of our veteran players to be able to pick up on the little nuances of the game. He’s got ability, he’s got the makeup and I think yesterday was a start, a positive start in the right direction. Looking forward to seeing him just increase his load and continue to make an impact as we move forward.”

The Rams have high hopes for Lewis, even though he’s a third-round rookie. His combination of size and speed alone make him an imposing threat on the edge, with the ability to set the edge in the run game and disrupt quarterbacks in the backfield.

Of course, in order for him to get more opportunities, someone has to lose playing time. On Sunday, Ebukam was that player, seeing a season-low five snaps. Lewis tied with Ogbonnia Okoronkwo by playing 14 snaps, but Okoronkwo had to leave the game with an elbow injury. If he can’t play Sunday against Washington, it could be Lewis’ time to shine.

McVay shared some insight on why Ebukam only played five snaps against Washington despite being the starter opposite Leonard Floyd.

“Yeah, it was more a result of just the personnel groupings. He’s playing a lot in our base personnel groupings,” McVay said. “I thought (outside linebackers coach) Chris (Shula) did a great job getting a rotation of – you’ve got Obo, Jachai Polite, you’ve got Terrell Lewis. Leonard Floyd played almost every single snap. I want to say he played 53 of the 54 defensive snaps, but I thought it was a good rotation of some of those guys. And then just some of the personnel groupings that we were activating on defense, led to Samson having a limited workload. Wasn’t anything he didn’t do, but to his credit, just his spirit on the sideline, his communication and just his engagement is why you love guys like him. Sometimes just those packages that you’re a part of, you’re not playing as much based on how we want to match up to the offensive personnel, the way that the game unfolded and that was what happened in that situation yesterday.”

Ebukam has struggled this season, so that most likely played a part in his lack of playing time against Washington. With so much competition at the outside linebacker position, it’ll be hard for him to carve out a significant role ahead of Lewis, Okoronkwo and even Polite, who had a sack in only four snaps Sunday.

The Rams’ pass rush is improving, but it’s not at the point where the team should be fully satisfied. Hopefully Lewis’ emergence can change that.

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Rams to keep ‘healthy competition going’ between Okoronkwo, Ebukam

Brandon Staley wants to keep the rotation at outside linebacker going with Okoronkwo and Ebukam playing well.

For the first time all season in Week 4, an outside linebacker besides Leonard Floyd played more snaps than Samson Ebukam. Ogbonnia Okoronkwo played 30 snaps compared to Ebukam’s 21, which isn’t a huge difference but was certainly notable.

Okoronkwo has been improving throughout the season, culminating in a strong performance against the Giants with a sack and a batted pass. He hasn’t taken over as the starter opposite Floyd just yet, but the competition is narrowing and Okoronkwo could continue to get more playing time.

For now, the Rams will keep the competition at outside linebacker going because Brandon Staley likes the way both players have played thus far.

As it relates to Obo and (OLB) Samson, that’s just the way it worked out,” Staley said Wednesday. “Obo’s been practicing well, and we feel like he gives us something different off the edge. Those guys are competing, and we feel good about both of them and the more Obo plays, the better he gets. Samson has been playing his tail off, too, improving, So we’re just going to keep that healthy competition going and we’re going to need all those guys to be successful.”

The edge rushers as a whole had been struggling until Sunday’s game against the Giants, but they came alive with a productive game. Ebukam, Okoronkwo and Justin Hollins all got in on sacks, and Floyd had one called back due to a penalty on Troy Hill.

This battle at outside linebacker is far from settled and the snap counts are likely to vary from week to week as the season goes on.

 

 

Rams need Terrell Lewis to make immediate pass-rush impact when activated

Terrell Lewis can be activated as early as this week, but it sounds like he probably won’t play Sunday vs. the Giants.

There’s a lot to be excited about with the Rams this season, especially after a tumultuous offseason that involved major changes to both the roster and coaching staff. The pass rush, however, is not something fans (or the team) should feel good about after three weeks.

It’s been arguably the weakest part of the team, with everyone not named Aaron Donald struggling to generate much pressure on the quarterback. The edge rushers, in particular, have struggled through three games, with Leonard Floyd being the only one to record a sack; he has two so far.

According to Pro Football Reference, the Rams’ outside linebackers have combined for a total of four pressures on opposing quarterbacks. And as if that’s not bad enough, all four have been by Floyd.

Samson Ebukam, Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, Jachai Polite and Justin Hollins have zero quarterback pressures combined this season. They haven’t knocked down the quarterback once, generated one hurry and have just 12 total tackles.

All this is to say the Rams need Terrell Lewis now more than ever, which is a scary proposition considering he’s a third-round rookie with no NFL experience – not even a preseason snap. But that’s the position Los Angeles is in because Ebukam, Okoronkwo and the rest of the edge rushers are simply not getting it done. Even Floyd’s impact has been underwhelming despite the fact that he has two sacks in three games.

Lewis is currently on the reserve/non-football injury list after undergoing a knee scope to determine whether he had an infection from a previous surgery. Fortunately, he didn’t have one, but his timetable to return remains unclear.

Technically, he could be activated this week and play on Sunday against the Giants. But according to Sean McVay, the team hasn’t discussed that possibility yet and it would be optimistic to think he’ll make his debut this week.

He may only be a third-round rookie, but his ceiling is high and we saw some glimpses of his ability in training camp. At 6-foot-5 and 260-plus pounds, Lewis is a physical specimen who moves extremely well. He’s explosive off the line, possesses great length as a pass rusher and knows how to set the edge in the running game.

He shouldn’t be expected to come in and rack up 10 sacks as a rookie, but any contributions as a pass rusher will be valuable to a Rams defense that’s starving for pressure from someone besides Donald. Because if things don’t change in a hurry, teams will simply double- and triple-team Donald more than they already do and bet that the Rams’ other pass rushers won’t hurt them.

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It sounds like Samson Ebukam has inside track to starting OLB role

Brandon Staley seemed to suggest Samson Ebukam will be a starter at OLB opposite Leonard Floyd.

Having productive and dynamic edge rushers in a 3-4 defense is crucial, especially when it comes to freeing up an interior defender like Aaron Donald. The Rams have been cycling through outside linebackers since 2017, and they have yet to land on a long-term plan at the position.

They put a Band-Aid on the situation by signing Leonard Floyd to a one-year, $10 million contract that’s fully guaranteed, but they don’t have a surefire starter on the other side.

Or do they?

Defensive coordinator Brandon Staley hinted at Samson Ebukam being the other starter opposite Floyd, returning to the role he held in 2018 when he started 14 games. Here’s what Staley said about the outside linebacker competition in camp, immediately pointing toward Ebukam after mentioning Floyd.

“Outside rusher, you really have Leonard Floyd – who we’re just really excited to have him – and he is going to be leading that group,” Staley said on a conference call this weekend. “Then Samson has played a lot of football here and played a lot of winning football here. He is a guy that I followed throughout his career as a young player to now. We are excited for him to be able to take a step forward and really get a chance to show what he can do.”

The Rams certainly don’t lack depth at outside linebacker, specifically young talent. Behind Floyd and Ebukam are unproven edge rushers such as Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, Terrell Lewis, Jachai Polite and a few others.

If Ebukam is going to be a starter as it sounds he will, the others will be fighting for snaps in sub-packages and as situational pass rushers. Staley didn’t leave them out, they just weren’t mentioned in the group with Floyd and Ebukam. But he did indicate that the competition at outside linebacker will be ongoing throughout the season, which is a good sign for these younger players.

“And then you’ve got really a bunch of young players that are looking to prove themselves in the NFL. I’m talking about ‘Obo,’ I am talking about Terrell Lewis, Natrez Patrick, Justin Lawler, all those guys, Jachai Polite,” Staley continued. “There is a group of young players that are looking to establish themselves in the NFL. So, a lot of competition at that position. (Outside linebackers coach) Chris Shula is one of the best coaches I know coaching them, so that process is going to be all the way up until the game and probably throughout the season. You will see a lot of competition at that position and just sorting through who is going to play what role and all that good stuff.”

The Rams don’t lack intriguing options at edge rusher, it’s just a matter of sorting through the competition and finding which players can emerge as playmakers.

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