Right on draft season cue, fans of the Los Angeles Rams are pining for an upgrade at linebacker. These calls have fallen on deaf ears in the past. Since the 2017 partnership of General Manager Les Snead and Coach Sean McVay, investing capital in the linebacker corps could be best described as an afterthought.
Since the Snead/McVay pairing, the Rams have drafted five linebackers, Chris Paul (2025 Rd5), Ernest Jones (2021 Rd3), Clay Johnston (2020 Rd7), Dakota Allen (2019 Rd7), and Micah Kiser (2018
Rd5). Only Jones has been a valued pro.
While the Rams have appeared content in recent history with a parade of undrafted free agents and retreads, the 2026 off-season has been a change of pace. There are reports circulating that L.A. has met with three Top 100 linebacker prospects, Missouri’s Jeremiah Trotter, Pittsburgh’s Kyle Louis, and Cincinnati’s Jake Golday.
Will 2026 be the year the Rams spend high-end draft capital at linebacker? Or settle for another late-round developmental prospect? Here are the linebacker prospects with draftable grades off my Top 300 Big Board.
Round 1
Sonny Styles – Ohio State 6’ 5” 244 lb.
His potential smears the positional value line. A Top 5 prospect. Stellar stack/shed ability, short area agility, and tackle form. Generational combination of size, speed, and instincts
Round 2
CJ Allen – Georgia 6’1” 230 lb.
Ferocious and assignment-based. Tough gap filler and strong tackler in traffic and out in space. Good linear speed, but challenged laterally and when changing direction. Stellar football instincts and IQ.
Anthony Hill – Texas 6’2“ 238 lb.
Gifted athlete with a hair trigger to the ball. Solid wrap up tackler and quality speed-base blitzer. Needs strength for better stack/shed. Good eyes to read/react in coverage. A defensive playmaker.
Jake Golday – Cincinnati 6’5” 239 lb.
On Feldman’s Freaks list with solid all-around game and motor. Plus pursuit, sifts through traffic with good change of direction. Solid cover man, often lined outside on slot receiver in zone coverage.
Jacob Rodriguez – Texas Tech 6’1” 231 lb.
Plus athletic ability and 100% percent effort. Thumping tackler, but needs to get under control. Eyes for read/react in zone and hips to mirror in man. Changes games creating turnovers.
Josiah Trotter – Mizzou 6’2” 237 lb.
Youngster at 21. There’s an old school vibe to his game, physical and instinctive. Stellar pursuit to ball and physical tackler, Can use power or finesse in traffic. Change of direction and agility hurt in pass coverage.
Round 3
Kyle Louis – Pittsburgh 6’ 220
Bit of a size outlier, Louis plays like a hard-nosed safety. Solid in short zone pass coverage and move skills to play man. Takes good angles, uses quickness and read/react skills to hunt. Reportedly a film junkie.
Round 4
Deontae Lawson – ‘Bama 6’3” 226 lb.
Solid athlete with lanky frame and room for more mass. Quick downhill pursuer, shoots gaps for losses. Has improved year-to-year in pass coverage, but still his weakest point. Needs strength work for stack/shed.
Round 5
Kaleb Elarms-Orr – TCU 6’2” 234 lb.
One-year starter, with stellar athleticism, which is how he wins. Instincts and read /react skills not fully developed, but you see the flashes of a very good player. Needs live reps.
Harold Perkins – LSU 6’1” 223 lb.
Stellar speed and athleticism. Pursues well but has missed high rate of tackles. Crazy versatility with 600 reps at edge, 900 as linebacker, 700 in coverage, and 200 on special teams.
Keyshaun Elliott – Arizona State 6’2” 232 lb.
Old school physical player, excels in run defense by exploding downhill into gaps. Stellar football instincts and relentless pursuit to the ball, Good blitzer as well, but a little heavy-footed in pass defense.
Bryce Boettcher – Oregon 6’1” 230 lb.
Walk-on player with one speed, full tilt boogie. Aggressive, takes on blockers in gaps. Not really a thumper though, more of a chase/drag tackler. Former safety navigates with awareness in space and coverage.
Round 6
Tauren York – Texas A&M 5’11” 226 lb.
Comes out as a junior, started every college game. A bit short, but thick thighs. Stellar instincts, processing, and instant trigger lets him play fast. Very strong and agile. Thumping tackler and adept in short coverage.
Aiden Fisher – Indiana 6’1” 232 lb.
Outstanding football IQ, assignment-based, reads offensive keys and cues. Good tackler inside and can blitz. To tight moving in space and out in coverage and lacks short area agility to mirror playmakers on open field.
Round 7
Jimmy Rolder – Michigan 6’3” 238 lb.
One-year starter with assertive play style. Good athlete with plus short area agility and change of direction. Strong wrap-up tackler. Stellar vs the run, lacks fluidity in space and coverage.
Lander Barton – Utah 6’5” 233 lb.
Linear mover. Good eyes and wingspan for zone coverage, but lacks short area agility in man. Good IQ and recognition of defenses. Needs consistency using length and strikes to stack/shed.
Red Murdock – Buffalo 6’2” 232 lb.
Two-down thumper. Stellar run defender with strong stack/shed skills. Jarring tackler, forced a record number of fumbles. Needs work in pass coverage, okay in short zone, but won’t keep up in man because of tight lower body.
Justin Jefferson – ‘Bama 6’ 223 lb.
Stellar athlete. Solid speed and quick change of direction create sideline-to-sideline coverage. Good tackler and blitzer. Good eyes and awareness in zone. Needs stack/shed work.
Jack Kelly – BYU 6’2” 240 lb.
Often used as a blitzer and QB spy. Solid speed, plays downhill. Seems a little off kilter when not aggressively attacking. Needs stack/shed work, but constantly fighting to ball/runner.
Kendal Daniels – Oklahoma 6’2” 240 lb.
OU used him on multiple formations in a safety/backer hybrid role. Solid read/react near the line and puts shoulders into tackles. Played a lot of zone coverage and while not a speedster, played deep safety as well.
My guys
I’m in on Anthony Hill. True sideline-to sideline speed and agility, the versatility to be moved around the board, and defensive playmaker skills make him one of my favorites. I notice a lot of draftniks have going towards the end of Round 2 and early Round 3. Falling to the Rams at #61 would be sweet.
Later on the talent falls off, but Harold Perkins’ versatility can offer a lot of options to a defensive coordinator and raises the athleticism level of special teams. His production has dropped off since a bad knee injury a couple season back, but a mid/late pick on him is a fair stake, if L.A. doesn’t go linebacker early.
I think I’ve mentioned before that Justin Jefferson and Kendal Daniels strike me as high floor late round picks. Both are ex-safeties with the requisite physicality, above-average pass coverage ability, and deep special teams experience.
The Rams need a couple of bodies to fill out the linebacker unit for OTAs and the preseason, what would you do to fill those holes?
