Dean Connors and Ty Simpson led the Los Angeles Rams to a victory in the team’s preseason finale against the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday night.
The Rams will kickoff their regular season journey in just two weeks. Before we turn the corner, let’s assess who performed well and who didn’t in the final exhibition game.
These are the grades and data from Pro Football Focus (PFF):
Top five grades on offense
1 – Dean Connors, RB: 77.4
Connors rushed 18 times for 69 yards and added three receptions for 24 yards and a score through the air. The rookie UDFA
was LA’s highest-graded receiver on Thursday night. He posted his third receiving touchdown of the preseason.
More impressive is the fact that 60 of his rushing yards came after contact (88%). Connors forced five missed tackles and rushed for eight first downs.
Will the rookie make the roster? Who knows? He at least made a very compelling case to all the teams across teh NFL.
2 – AJ Arcuri, LT: 66.1
Struggling in pass blocking (47.6) with two pressures allowed and a penalty, Arcuri’s best work came in the run game with a grade of 80.7. He played all 74 snaps, which could be a troubling sign ahead of roster cutdowns. The Rams should remain mindful of Alaric Jackson’s possible suspension, though Arcuri playing the full game may be a sign that the team isn’t that worried.
3 – Ty Simpson, QB: 65.7
Worth noting—Simpson’s grade after the first half was in the 75 range. Reserve quarterback Matthew Caldwell was injured and Simpson had to step in for an emergency situation. He did very little more than handing the ball off each time in order to prevent injury. This may have lowered his overall PFF grade from the first half mark.
The most promising outcome from Thursday night was that Simpson posted his first big-time throw of the preseason on a scrambling touchdown to Brennan Presley. The rookie’s average depth of target rose to 5.9 after being sub-5 through two games.
Prior to the remaining preseason games, Simpson has attempted the most passes. He’s completed an impressive 78.3% of his throws. After adjusting for drops and throwaways, his adjusted completion rate climbs to 82.8%. He isn’t being asked to throw the ball very far downfield; however, he’s executing the plays in front of him very well. It’s an encouraging sign.
4 – CJ Daniels, WR: 65.6
Daniels added another five receptions on six targets for 42 yards on Thursday night. This brings his preseason total to 15 catches on 24 targets for 128 yards. Before this weekend’s games, Daniels leads all rookie receivers in targets by a 10(!).
5 – Mark Redman, TE: 62.5
Rookie Max Klare played over half the game with 41 snaps out of the total 74. He received a few targets early.
The attention then turned to Redman, who caught all three of his targets for 16 yards. His best work came as a blocker where he earned marks of 72.9 in pass protection (two snaps) and 66.6 in run blocking (11 snaps). His run blocking grade ranked third on the team behind Arcuri and Tyler Scott.
Other notes on offense
After standing out in a very positive way through two games, rookie UDFA Austin Blake did not perform well against the other LA team. Blaske has played four of five spots on the offensive line. His best performance has come at left tackle. After moving to RG against the Chargers, he posted a grade of 46.0.
Top five grades on defense
There seem to be fewer roster spots up for grabs on the defensive side of the ball. I’m going to keep it shorter for this group because none of them project well in terms of the final 53-man roster.
1 – Darryl Peterson, EDGE: 93.2
Peterson posted an elite pass rushing grade of 93.8 with three pressures on 23 rushes. He earned two sacks and helped closeout the game while the Chargers were driving for the would-be game-winning score.
2 – Jaxson Moi, DT: 73.3
Moi fared well from a grading perspective despite missing one of two tackle attempts. His best contribution came as a pass rusher where he tallied four pressures.
3 – Alex Johnson, DB: 69.7
Johnson played 17 snaps with 10 coming in coverage. He was not targeted, which is a sign he was tight with his assigned receivers.
4 – Eli Neal, LB: 68.0
Neal made three tackles plus an assist without a miss. He was on the field for 21 plays with 14 coming in coverage.
5 – Steven Gilmore, CB: 66.0
The Rams signed Gilmore this week and he was their best corner on Thursday night through 10 reps. He was not targeted in coverage.
Other notes on defense
Wesley Bailey started the game but played only two snaps after the defense recovered a fumble by Justin Herbert.
Standout safety Nick Andersen also started and played just eight snaps. Are the Rams telling us they’d like to keep both players around, whether on the 53-man roster or practice squad?
