Rob Havenstein and Leonard Floyd have been 2 bright spots in Ram camp...

Rob Havenstein and Leonard Floyd have been two bright spots in Rams camp

[theramswire.usatoday.com]

Cameron DaSilva

Several players have received positive reviews at Rams training camp this year, primarily rookies such as Van Jefferson, Jordan Fuller and Cam Akers. But they’re not the only ones who have performed at a high level in practice and caught the attention of Sean McVay.

Two other players critical to the Rams’ success who have stood out in camp are Leonard Floyd and Rob Havenstein. Floyd was the team’s biggest free-agent addition this offseason and joins an unproven group of edge rushers, while Havenstein is bouncing back from a disappointing 2019 season marred by injuries and poor play.

The two have been going up against each other often in practice and McVay has been pleased with the way they’ve played up to this point – particularly Havenstein at right tackle.

“If you look at two of our bright spots this camp, if you said ‘OK, looking at somebody coming off the edge on defense and looking at some consistency and stability on your edges offensively,’ I think Rob and Leonard Floyd have been a double thumbs up and very pleased and excited about what those guys are going to do for us this year and be big impact players,” McVay said Monday.

Havenstein missed the end of the season with a knee injury and was replaced by Bobby Evans in the starting lineup. Evans proved capable, but he certainly didn’t play at the level that Havenstein did in 2018.

Getting Havenstein back to full health will be huge for the offensive line because he was truly one of the best right tackles in the game two seasons ago, which is part of the reason the Rams had so much success both running the ball and throwing it with Jared Goff.

Havenstein worked hard this offseason, including a lot of time with Andrew Whitworth at his garage-turned-gym. McVay acknowledged Havenstein’s dedication and work ethic and has been happy with the way he’s performed in camp.

“He was working through some different things and he’s so tough that he persevered through some stuff that was bothering him early on in the season,” McVay said. “Here is what I feel great about – I know that he attacked the offseason the right way, he’s feeling healthy, he looks like the guy that has been a top-tier, starting tackle in this league. He’s got a great way about himself and I’ve been very pleased with Rob.”


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As for Floyd, he had a great showing in the scrimmage on Saturday, disrupting the offense several times off the left side of the defensive front. His versatility and experience working with Brandon Staley has McVay excited about his potential, which could involve playing multiple positions.

In a pinch, Floyd can probably play inside linebacker, too, given his ability to stop the run – which has always been one of his best traits. McVay didn’t say he would play inside, but he did mention Floyd’s coverage skills dropping back.

“I think the first thing, is just coaching against Leonard – he’s a guy that’s always been disruptive and I think in a lot of instances the numbers aren’t indicative of the kind of impact that you can have on the game, especially when you’re talking about a versatile playmaker like him,” McVay said. “He can go forward, he can present some different options as a guy that’s played in coverage and then obviously I have a huge amount of trust and confidence in Coach Staley and having coached him. Even just going back to that 2018 season when Brandon was really coaching him, I thought he played excellent football. He’s a guy that can make a lot of plays, he can line up all over the place, he’s kind of the ‘joker’ type of player on defense that you like to have between the half backs and tight ends on offense and he’s a guy that showed up in a big way the other night.”

If Havenstein and Floyd can put together strong 2020 seasons, the Rams will be in much better shape across both the offensive and defensive fronts. Playing well in camp is one thing, but continuing that in regular-season games is a different story.