There was more to the story than just the scoreof the Los Angeles Rams pummeling at the hands of the arch-rival San Francisco 49ers last week. A physical toll was paid as well, particularly in the linebacker unit. Both starters Nate Landman (shoulder/thumb) and Omar Speights (hip) were nicked up.
Reports out of L.A. are that both will likely be available for the upcoming Monday Night Football tilt vs. the New York Giants. There is much pride in the NFL about biting the bullet and playing through pain,
the difference between just hurting and being injured. The logic escapes though, when trotting out limited players, even if only slightly/moderately impaired, against a physical, run-based offense and an athletic quarterback. L.A.’s next opponent, the New York Giants employs both.. This leads to a question that needs to be asked and answered.
Is Shaun Dolac the right move at linebacker?
In relief against the ‘Niners, Dolac got in on 19 defensive snaps, by far his most work since he received 35 in relief of Speights back in Week 6 of 2025. He also put in 17 reps of special teams work. For the day, he logged six tackles. He primarily lined up to the wide side of the field, defending 13 run plays and six vs. the pass. While I didn’t keep track of the number, it appeared that the S.F. offense would attack outside when Landman was covering the wise side territory.
Reviewing Dolac’s film, it wasn’t a breakout performance, but his downhill trigger and aggressive attacking of run gaps did stand out. Eight of the plays (five passes) went well away from his sphere of influence and he wasn’t involved. The one completed pass, a middle screen, went for five yards. Not much of a sample to grade his pass defense.
I graded seven of Dolac’s 10 defended run plays as solid, two as negative and one a toss up. One of the two negatives was a missed tackle on a Christian McCaffrey spin move that went for a couple of extra yards and on the other, he was cleanly blocked on a sweep that went for 14. The toss up was another wide run (seven yard gain) where he came from the opposite side of the formation and made the tackle, but took an iffy pursuit angle that forced him to make the play from behind.
Instincts and aggression drive Dolac’s work defending the run. He bangs heads into blockers with physicality fitting into run gaps and when tasked to read and pursue, uses nifty footwork and a nice swim move to maneuver around bigger blockers and navigate through the line of scrimmage traffic. In theory, since the Rams don’t do a lot of straight-up man coverage (more matching and pursuing to areas) with the line backers, Dolac’s change of direction and trigger abilities should offer zone coverage upside. The phrase “in theory” works because he just doesn’t have a much pro film defending the pass.
Don’t judge a book by its cover
Dolac came to L.A. via the undrafted ranks in 2025. Although he put up stellar numbers in college, at 6’1” 225 lbs with just over 30” arms, he was deemed as lacking the physical attributes of an NFL linebacker. Those are justified opinions, but Dolac is sneakily athletic and strong, according to nfldraftbuzz.com, his testing profile consistently rates in the 70th percentile.
Earning his way up a depth chart is not new to Dolac, he began his college career at Buffalo as a walk-on and left after being named a consensus All-American and leading the NCAA with 168 tackles in his final season. Even though he twice topped 145+ tackles, with 40.5 of those for loss, there were no all-star game or a NFL Draft Combine invites extended.
The snubs did not deter Dolac, he worked his way onto the Rams 2025 opening roster, and was not only activated, but played in all 17 games before a knee injury sidelined him for the playoffs.
Is a move imminent? Should fans expect it?
Rams Head coach Sean McVay has a history of being hesitant to replace an imbedded starter, but with both Nate Landman and Omar Speights coming out of the opener nicked up, this appears to be an excellent time to give Dolac a long look. It would be interesting to see if his aggressive style can help light a fire under the Rams defense. Rams fans would likely welcome this move because it seems that the fielding of “serviceable” linebackers is simply baked into the Rams approach to the unit.
There is certainly no guarantee that putting Dolac on the field in front of the others will turn the second line of the defense into an impenetrable force, but when forced into a large role in Week 6 of last season (a one-off outing, at that), he stepped right up to plate. As a pro, his play in training camp/practice has been lauded for on-field and chalkboard work. There is no need for the L.A. braintrust to play two injured players when they have a third option, a serviceable one at that.
