These safeties in NFL Draft would benefit Rams defense more than a linebacker

One of the biggest needs for the Los Angeles Rams heading into the 2025 NFL Draft is at linebacker. Both Troy Reeder and Christian Rozeboom who were starters to begin the 2024 season left in free agency. While that’s not necessarily a bad thing, it does leave the Rams thin at the position with Nate Landman and Omar Speights as the current projected starters.

The Rams may have a significant need at linebacker, but this also hasn’t been a front office that has designated a lot of resources into the position. Under general manager Les Snead and head coach Sean McVay, the Rams have never used a top-100 pick on a linebacker. While they did sign Bobby Wagner in free agency in 2022, that was more of an opportunity that presented itself rather than the team going out of their way to pursue the position.

Ernest Jones is the most the Rams have invested at linebacker and he was taken with the 103rd overall pick. Outside of Jones, it’s been a lot of late-round selections and undrafted free agents. Omar Speights was an undrafted free agent last year as was Christian Rozeboom and Troy Reeder. Micah Kiser was a fifth round pick while Cory Littleton was an undrafted free agent.

There’s something to be said about the team being able to develop linebacker prospects into passable starters. At the same time, you get what you pay for and linebacker has been a position of need for much of the last five years. That need has been emphasized even greater heading into the 2025 NFL draft after the Rams gave up 205 rushing yards and two touchdowns to Saquon Barkley in the final game of the season.

As with most things, the Rams need at linebacker is a case in which multiple things can be true. The Rams need to upgrade at the linebacker position. It really is that simple, but there are some stipulations. During free agency, the Rams upgraded on the defensive line by signing Poona Ford. Ford is one of the better gap-eating defensive linemen in the NFL and that’s where a lot of this starts. Additionally, from Weeks 8-17, Speights was the seventh best run-stopping linebacker via PFF. His 8.9 percent run stop percentage ranked 15th. Stopping the run and filling rushing lanes was one of Speights’ biggest strengths as a rookie.

The Rams defense played much better, especially against the run, with Speights on the field. Speights finished with 33 stops which led Rams linebackers in 2024. A stop is a tackle made by a defender that results in a positive play for the defense.

In other words, the Rams don’t necessarily need a run-stopping linebacker because they already have one. The need remains a linebacker that can make an impact in coverage while holding their own against the run. While Rozeboom ranked 11th in coverage last season via PFF, allowing just 77.1 percent of his targets, he was a liability against the run. Rozeboom was a solid tackler, but ranked 33rd against the run via PFF in Weeks 8-17 and had a tendency to get lost in traffic or stuck on blocks.

While it is true that the Rams need an upgrade at linebacker, they already have one that was good against the run last year and they have added to the defensive line. Both of those things, especially the improvement up front will help where many see the Rams biggest need on defense when it comes to stopping the run.

Where the Rams defense lacked last season, especially in the run game, was on the backend and in the secondary. That was a unit that had its issues defending the pass. The Rams defense ranked 28th in EPA per pass and 26th in yards per pass. That was despite having a top-5 pass rush.

However, it was also a unit that struggled when a run got to the second and third levels. The general tackling in the Rams secondary was a weakness and that was especially noticeable in the run game. Again, just looking at Weeks 8-17, the Rams safeties struggled. Kam Kinchens had a missed tackle percentage of 16.7 percent.

While Taylor Rapp had his issues in coverage, he was a sure-tackler in the box. He only had one season with a missed tackle rate over eight percent. Kam Curl who replaced Rapp’s role was at 12 percent in 2024.

This isn’t to say that Kinchens can’t improve or that Curl won’t be more comfortable after a full year in the defense. At the same time, the Rams are missing that type of physical presence on the backend of the defense in the secondary. Quentin Lake was fine, but he’s much better as a deep safety or in pass coverage from the slot than he is a run defender.

Despite safety not being seen as a top need, adding another safety to give Kinchens another year to develop and move Lake away from the STAR role back as a deep safety might be beneficial. Two players in the first round that make the most sense for that are Texas’ Jahdae Barron and Georgia’s Malaki Starks.

Barron may be designated as a nickel cornerback, but like Cooper Dejean last year, he does so much more. This is a player that can cover from the slot or at safety and play on the outside if needed. However, it’s his physicality, especially in the run game, that would pay dividends for the Rams defense.

Said Kyle Crabbs of The 33rd Team,

“His low center of gravity makes him tough to uproot and disrupt for skill players on the edges of the core, offering him the ability to run through lateral challenges or blocks from skill players trying to seal him inside. Barron is quick to process and showcases the needed pop downhill to beat blockers to the spot, earning the opportunity to square up ball carriers bouncing runs to the perimeter. He is capable of cutting down bigger backs and ensuring minimal added yardage on runs into his area, which aids his nickel resume.”

Barron is a player that can make plays in the box in the run game and have an impact in that area. That’s the type of player in the secondary that the Rams are currently missing and haven’t had since Jalen Ramsey was traded to the Miami Dolphins.

While Barron would be a good fit in that role, it’s hard to find a player that fits the Rams better than Malaki Starks from Georgia. Like Barron, Starks is also extremely versatile with the ability to play in the nickel as the STAR or as a deep safety.

It’s important to note that drafting Starks doesn’t mean replacing Lake. They are similar players, but Starks is a more natural fit in the slot and in the box. Again, adding Starks allows Kinchens to continue developing while Lake takes over in the deep safety role. Lake and Starks become interchangeable rather than one replacing the other. It’s also worth noting that the Rams played among the highest rates of three safety looks on defense in 2024. Adding Starks is just another chess piece for Shula to use in that look.

Last season, Starks ranked seventh against the run via PFF and had a missed tackle rate of 2.6 percent. He’s as sure of a tackler as it gets on the backend as a player that can fill rushing lanes.

Heading into next year, the Rams are going to continue to be inexperienced at linebacker. The most experienced players that they’ll have will be Omar Speights and Nate Landman. Both players are better against the run than they are in coverage. Even if the Rams add a Jeffrey Bassa or Demetrius Knight Jr. in the third round, those are inexperienced players.

Again, Shula utilized Dime looks on defense at the highest rate in the NFL. Those packages require just one linebacker on the field at a given time. A player like Barron or Starks essentially becomes the extension of the linebacker unit. It’s not as extreme as outright moving a safety to the linebacker position like the Rams did with Mark Barron, but it is a somewhat similar concept.

Shula gets all of the benefits with the athleticism of a safety in coverage, but also a player that can come up and make the tackle. There’s also a lot more versatility to work with when it comes to Barron and Starks.

Coming into training camp last year, there was always an idea that Shula was going to use his safeties in more creative ways. Adding a player like Barron or Starks to this version of the Rams defense completely changes the math in the secondary. When you take into account how Shula began to use the safeties last season and adding upgraded, versatile talent to that group, the thought of Barron or Starks is exciting.

The Rams do need to upgrade at the linebacker position. However, it’s unlikely that a rookie drafted outside of the top-100 comes in and makes an immediate impact. Even with Ernest Jones, it took him until halfway through his rookie year to find consistent playing time. If the Rams keep using their safeties as extensions of the linebackers in dime looks, that role benefits this defense more than a traditional coverage linebacker.