4 Rams ranked among NFL's most underrated free agents
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theramswire.usatoday.com]
Cameron DaSilva
Free agency may not be kind to the Los Angeles Rams this offseason, seeing several of their starters from 2020 hit the market on March 17. Among their top free agents are Leonard Floyd and John Johnson, both of whom started every game last season.
Rams fans know the names of the team’s priority free agents, but they’re not exactly household names on the national landscape. That makes some of the Rams’ free agents underrated, at least in the mind of Doug Farrar at Touchdown Wire.
Farrar ranked the 11 most underrated free agents on offense and the 11 most underrated on defense and four Rams made the cut: three on defense and one on offense.
The four players were Floyd, Johnson, Troy Hill and Gerald Everett. Floyd and Johnson aren’t terribly surprising, considering they’re coming off arguably the best season of their careers, and neither Hill nor Everett are well known among casual fans.
Hill has had an up-and-down tenure with the Rams, but last season was arguably his best yet. He played the slot and lined up outside, providing the Rams excellent versatility in the secondary – which Jalen Ramsey says helped him have an All-Pro season.
Farrar lauded Hill’s coverage skills when dropping into zone, noting his three interceptions and two pick-sixes.
Last season, Hill gave up 27 receptions on 47 zone targets for 307 yards, no touchdowns, three interceptions, a league-high 119 interception return yards and two touchdowns, and a Positive Play Rate of 48.9. More volume, but more interceptions, and more big plays the other way.
As for Everett, Farrar sees what Rams fans have noticed for the last four years: a player who’s great in the open field but still has untapped potential. He’s been viewed as a breakout candidate seemingly every year, but the presence of Tyler Higbee ahead of him on the depth chart has prevented that from happening.
If Everett lands somewhere else next season, as he’s expected to, that breakout could finally come.
For a creative offensive mind, Gerald Everett could be the key to unlocking the potential of a modern NFL offense. Everett’s movement skills and quickness make him a matchup nightmare against linebackers, and given that Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay found a variety of ways to ensure that Everett would get favorable matchups this season, and then exploit them after the snap. Everett’s ability was a big reason that Los Angeles used a lot more 12 offensive personnel the past few seasons, including using that package 29% of the time this past year.
These four players may be underrated from the media’s perspective, but the other 31 teams surely know how talented they are – and that could make it difficult for the Rams to re-sign any of them when free agency opens.
The team is prepared for the departure of Johnson and Everett thanks to their depth at safety and tight end, but they’ll need help at corner and outside linebacker if Hill and Floyd depart.
