Rams bolstered their pass rush, but don’t forget about Samson Ebukam...

Rams bolstered their pass rush, but don't forget about Samson Ebukam

Andrew Ortenberg

[theramswire.usatoday.com]

All last season, there was talk about how outside pass rush was a weakness for the Los Angeles Rams. Too often, Aaron Donald was doing it all by himself, and there were games when Donald was the only player on the Rams who could even get near the quarterback.

General manager Les Snead clearly saw it as a big issue and made upgrading the unit a top priority. He made a big trade with the Jaguars to land Dante Fowler Jr. at the deadline last year, which paid huge dividends. Fowler came alive at the end of the season, making some huge plays in the playoffs including landing the hit on Drew Brees that essentially sent the Rams to the Super Bowl.

Fowler was set to be a free agent last month, but the Rams locked him up just before free agency opened. Then they went out and made another big splash, signing Clay Matthews to a two-year contract. But while Fowler and Matthews have been getting most of the attention, one player has been flying mostly under the radar. His name is Samson Ebukam.

Ebukam just finished his second season in the pros after the Rams took him in the fourth round back in 2017. He hasn’t been getting a ton of attention, but he played a lot better than most people realize last year, and he has a chance to play a very big role in 2019.

In fact, Pro Football Focus gave him the highest pass-rushing grade of any Rams defender other than Donald. He only had three sacks, but he got after the quarterback much more than those numbers indicate. Sacks often don’t tell the full story, and Ebukam should improve on those numbers moving forward.

He also found himself around the ball often last season, returning an interception for a touchdown and recovering two fumbles, including one that went for another touchdown.

Ebukam hasn’t been lights out his first couple of years in the league, but nobody should’ve expected that. The Rams drafted him in the middle rounds out of the FCS school Eastern Washington, and he was always going to need time to develop his raw talent.

Some observers have been too quick to write him off, and he shouldn’t be neglected just because the Rams have added a couple of bigger names with larger pedigrees. Ebukam has already shown he can hold his own at the NFL level, and he’s still only 23.

Not many 23-year-olds who didn’t even play FBS college ball could make the level of impact rushing the passer that he already has. The Rams’ outside linebacking group was a weak spot for most of last season, and there wasn’t anyone teams needed to pay too much attention to.

If anything, the acquisitions of Fowler and Matthews will only help Ebukam in year three. Teams will be game-planning more to stop those two, which should open things up for Ebukam.

He only played around 33 percent of the defensive snaps as a rookie, and last year was his first season getting consistent opportunities. He should be given the chance to build on that next year.

Wade Phillips has a great track record of developing pass-rushers, and the coaching staff has always been high on Ebukam’s potential. Rams fans should be patient as he continues to grow, and nobody should forget about him in favor of the newer, shinier acquisitions.