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theramswire.usatoday.com] NFL draft expert names 2 edge rushers to watch for the Rams at No. 36
Cameron DaSilva
April 20, 2023 6:01 am PT
The Los Angeles Rams haven’t made a first-round pick since 2016 and that won’t change this year unless they trade up. However, they are slated to pick the earliest they ever have in the Sean McVay era, sitting there at No. 36 overall in the second round.
There are a number of different ways they could go at that spot, including cornerback, edge rusher, O-line and wide receiver. Really, only kicker and punter can be ruled out. But given their roster needs, edge rusher is widely viewed as their biggest priority position.
NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah, a veteran draft expert, sees the defensive front seven as a spot the Rams could address early on, specifically edge rusher. And luckily for them, this is a deep edge-rusher class and the Rams should be able to get a first-round talent at No. 36.
“Picking at 36, I look at their defensive line as an area they could address,” Jeremiah said on Ricky’s Ram Jam podcast. “It happens to be a really deep edge-rusher group so you might be getting a first-round player – a very good chance you’re getting a first-round-caliber player at edge rusher there at 36. That’d be some place they could go. And I think as they go throughout the draft, I think you add another defensive lineman, you could add a linebacker, you can look in the secondary and add some pieces. It feels like this could be a pretty defensive-centric draft.”
So which players might the Rams look at when they go on the clock in Round 2? Jeremiah mentioned two pass rushers who would make a lot of sense for Los Angeles: Will McDonald V and Felix Anudike-Uzomah.
“I’d keep an eye out for Will McDonald as an edge rusher,” Jeremiah said. “Someone I think is just a really, really good football player and would fit with what they do. If you think of Leonard Floyd and kind of his skill set and the things he was able to provide, I think Will McDonald out of Iowa State can do a lot of those same things. He’s real loose and bendy and can do a lot of things as a rusher. I think he’d be a great fit. That’s probably right about where he will go off the board, so I’d keep an eye on that name.
“Another defensive lineman … Felix Anudike-Uzomah is the edge rusher from Kansas State. … That would be another name that I’d keep an eye on as an edge rusher.”
The Rams moved on from Floyd this offseason, outright cutting him and making him a free agent. Floyd is still available but there’s no chance the Rams bring him back. That leaves Michael Hoecht, Daniel Hardy and Keir Thomas as the top three edge rushers on the depth chart.
The Rams like tall, long edge rushers like Floyd, Terrell Lewis and Justin Hollins, which is what McDonald brings, too; he’s 6-foot-4 with almost 35-inch arms. Anudike-Uzomah is slightly smaller (6-3, 33.5-inch arms), but he’s a good athlete and NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein compared him to Dante Fowler Jr., formerly of the Rams.
Los Angeles can’t go wrong with either prospect and hopefully at least one of them is on the board at No. 36.
