Free agent Nate Landman joins Omar Speights at linebacker in LA
The Los Angeles bolstered off-ball linebacker by coming to terms with free agent Nate Landman, the team announced.
Landman spent the last three seasons with the Atlanta Falcons. He’s made 23 starts over the last two years, including nine last year under former Rams defensive coordinator and now Atlanta head coach Raheem Morris. Los Angeles may feel they’ve seen Landman in an adjacent defensive scheme, which makes for a more straight-forward projection.
Landman is still 26 years old. He was an undrafted free agent out of Colorado in 2022.
Look at Nate Landman — forehead shredded, flesh wound on the kneecap, just straight vibing and having a good time. #CUBuffs pic.twitter.com/TaXTuYMl22
— Justin Guerriero (@GuerrieroTrib) December 6, 2020
Why it matters:
The Rams are thin at linebacker after watching multiple defenders leave in free agency. Christian Rozeboom—who was the starter for most of the 2023 season—joined Ejiro Evero with the Carolina Panthers. Jake Hummel signed with the Baltimore Ravens, which hurts the team’s depth at both linebacker and special teams. Troy Reeder is also a free agent and is still available on the market.
LA’s roster currently reflects Landman, last year’s standout UDFA Omar Speights, Elias Neal, and Tony Fields at linebacker. Because the Rams deploy multiple inside backers in base personnel packages, it’s reasonable to assume they aren’t done adding to this position whether again in free agency or through the draft.
International implications:
Landman was born in Zimbabwe. He became a US citizen during his sophomore year of college. He’s currently the only player in the NFL of Zimbabwean heritage, though Andrew Mukuba of Texas should soon join him. Mukuba, a safety, will likely hear his name called on either day two or three of next month’s NFL Draft.
By the numbers:
Landman appears to be a better run defender than coverage player at linebacker. He played 809 and 543 snaps for the Falcons in 2023 and 2024, respectively, posting Pro Football Focus (PFF) run defense grades of 85.4 (10th of 90 players using a 20% snap threshold) and 73.9 (29th of 94).
On the 2024 Falcons defense, Landman ranked third in run defense behind safety Jesse Bates and linebacker JD Bertrand.
In 2023 he also ranked third with corner Tre Flowers and Bates coming in ahead of him.
