With the Los Angeles Rams defensive interior coming off a stellar year and the whole group returning intact, identifying early round defensive tackles could be on the L.A. braintrust’s back burner. All but Kobie Turner are also contracted through 2027.
Since the pairing of Les Snead and Sean McVay, the Rams have had success, particularly recently, on defensive interior players. Going back, they have taken 10 in nine drafts, including current starters Turner (Rd3) and Braden Fiske (Rd2), as well as Tyler
Davis (Rd6), first guy off the bench. Last year it was Ty Hamilton (RD5) who had growing pains on 138 reps.
Desjuan Johnson (Rd7) is still with the team, albeit at a new home on the edge. Bobby Brown (Rd4), Greg Gaines (Rd4), and Sebastian Joseph-Day (Rd6) are still toiling in the NFL. The Rams wrung what they could out of their rookie contracts and decided not to re-sign them. John Franklin-Myers (Rd4) was surprisingly let go after an up-and-down rookie year, he’s been an NFL starter ever since. Tanzel Smart (Rd6) was a rotational player from that first 2017 draft.
While there are no generational stars in this years class, there a number of interesting mid-round candidates that might go higher in the draft than graded. Here are the defensive interior prospects from my Top 300 Big Board.
Round 1
Peter Woods – Clemson 6’3” 298 lb.
Kayden McDonald – Ohio State 6’2” 326 lb.
Caleb Banks – Florida 6’6” 327 lb.
I have all three graded to the back half of Round 1. Woods just turned 21 and has all the tools and traits, just needs seasoning. McDonald is a monolith vs the run, but doesn’t add a lot rushing the passer. Banks has the highest ceiling, drafting him is on projection, nagging foot injuries have limited him.
Round 2
Lee Hunter – Texas Tech 6’4” 318 lb.
Christen Miller – Georgia 6’4” 321 lb.
Both prospects have the mass, length, and strength to become long term run stoppers inside. Space eaters with plus hand fighting skills. Both would fit into the solid, but not spectacular category. Limited pass rushing potential with each.
Round 3
Domonique Orange – Iowa State 6’2” 322 lb.
Gracen Halton – Oklahoma 6’3” 293 lb.
Darrell Jackson – Florida State 6’6” 315 lb.
Orange combines leverage, length, and quickness to go along with his size and strength. Halton is undersized, but attacks gaps and pursues relentlessly with quickness and low leverage. Jackson flashes star potential and has multi-position versatility, just needs to hone consistency and work on technique.
Round 4
Zxavian Harris – Ole Miss 6’8” 330 lb.
Chris McClellan – Mizzou 6’4” 313 lb.
Tyler Onyedim – Texas Tech 6’4” 292 lb.
Harris has crazy size and wingspan, but he’s raw and needs technique work. Boom or bust aspect to his game. Motor runs hot/cold. McClellan is experienced and well-rounded. Features length and versatility with pass rushing upside. Onyedim is effort-based with long arms and has a good get-off. He can play up and down the line.
Round 5
Rayshaun Benny – Michigan 6’3” 298 lb.
Dontay Corleone – Cincinnati 6’1” 340 lb.
Kaleb Proctor – SE Louisiana 6’2” 292 lb.
Zane Durant – Penn State 6’1” 290 lb.
Demonte Capeheart – Clemson 6’5” 313 lb.
Tim Keenan – ‘Bama 6’1” 327 lb.
Albert Regis – Texas A&M 6’1” 295 lb.
Benny is a run-first defender with stack/shed skills and is a good hand fighter. Corleone is squatty with good contact balance and is hard to root out. On Feldman’s Freak’s List. Proctor is a good athlete, rangy in pursuit with good get-off. Will need strength and more sand as a pro. Durant is slightly undersized, but a stellar athlete and is best suited as a defensive end. Capeheart has plus a athleticism and length, but not much college production to show for it. Keenan is a middle clogger that understands how to hold ground. Good lower strength and natural low leverage. Regis has a good motor and short area agility. Not a great pass rusher, but gets hands up in passing lanes and knocks down a lot of passes.
Round 6
Nick Barrett – South Carolina 6’3” 312 lb.
Landon Robinson – Navy 5’11” 293 lb.
Barrett is a workman-like prospect with a good floor. Good lower body strength to root down an anchor. Can stack/shed and hand fight well. Robinson has natural low leverage and is quick off the ball. Hard for blockers to square up on him and his motor runs hot.
Round 7
Jordan van den Berg – Georgia Tech 6’3” 310 lb.
Van den Berg is very athletic with good strength at the point of attack. Has positional versatility, but needs work on stack/shed and hand fighting, too often leads with his head/neck/shoulders.
My guys
Gracen Halton and Tyler Onyedim are prospects that appear to fit the Rams mold, a tad undersized but good hand fighters, with short area quickness and effort-based play. Halton can be a disruptor if allowed to attack gaps, while Onyedim willingly does the the dirty work that let’s others have freedom.
L.A doesn’t really have a defined nose tackle role, guys are moved around the line, but Nick Barrett and Landon Robinson have enough potential to deserve a long look. Both are compact and stout. Barrett’s game is more power-based, while Robinson win with leverage and quickness. Take the traits of either of them and add learning the tricks of the trade from Poona Ford. Solid potential value.
What would you do to strengthen the Rams defensive interior?
