Les Snead evaluates Rams’ “very inexperienced” ILB corps...

Les Snead evaluates Rams' 'very experienced group' at linebacker

[theramswire.usatoday.com]

Cameron DaSilva

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.