Skip to content Skip to sidebar Skip to footer

The Los Angeles Rams turned some heads following their win over the Detroit Lions in Week 7 by trading Kenny Young to the Denver Broncos. The Rams sent Young and a 2024 seventh-round pick in exchange for a 2024 sixth-round pick.

The timing of the move is definitely a head-scratcher as the Rams are looking like a Super Bowl contender and they aren’t exactly deep at inside linebacker. Also, Young is second on the team in tackles and has emerged as the best all-around inside linebacker on the roster.

The decision to move Young is a peculiar one that has some believing Les Snead is conjuring something up ahead of the trade deadline on November 2. With Young now gone, Ernest Jones and Travin Howard could see expanded roles alongside Troy Reeder.

If the team is confident in Jones and Howard, then there’s a chance that Los Angeles made the move to offload Young — along with restructuring Rob Havenstein’s contract — in hopes to land some depth in the secondary. But if the Rams made this move to find a new inside linebacker, here are four options the team could consider.

Myles Jack

Acquiring Myles Jack seems like a long shot for the Rams, but I’d never doubt Snead when it comes to making a trade. Jack is one of the most expensive inside linebackers in the NFL with cap hits of $13.1 million in 2022 and $13.9 million in 2023 respectively.

By trading Young, the Rams created around $1.3 million in cap space, giving them a little over $5 million to work with ahead of the deadline. Provided that, there would need to be other moves to the roster — whether it be through restructures or another trade — for Los Angeles to be able to acquire Jack from the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Jack is an athletic linebacker that has eclipsed 100-plus tackles twice in his five seasons before 2021. The Rams are no strangers to doing business with the Jaguars, having already made trades for Jalen Ramsey and Dante Fowler in the past. Given the current state of the Jaguars, the Rams might be able to replace Young with another UCLA product in Jack if Los Angeles can somehow find a way to make it happen.

Rashaan Evans

It seems like forever ago when Rashaan Evans was considered an up-and-coming young linebacker in the NFL. Back in 2019, Evans had the best year of his career in his second season with the Tennessee Titans, logging 111 combined tackles, nine tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, and a fumble recovery.

Following his stellar season in 2019, Evans seemed destined to become a stud inside linebacker for the Titans. However, ever since the start of the 2020 season, Evans has seen his play steadily decline. As a result, Tennessee declined his fifth-year option in the offseason, making him a free agent in 2022.

The Rams have never shied away from taking chances on former first-round picks. Evans has been losing snaps to David Long (not the one on the Rams, obviously), so he’s been rumored in trade talks for months now. Getting Evans would give the Rams an opportunity to either get a long-term piece at inside linebacker or someone they can reap the benefits from in free agency in the form of a compensatory pick with a strong finish to the season.

Foyesade Oluokun

Foyesade Oluokun isn’t a household name in the NFL, but he can become one on the Rams. Oluokon is a former sixth-round pick by the Atlanta Falcons in the 2018 NFL draft out of Yale. In the past four seasons, he’s gradually improved his game with the Falcons.

Just last season, Oluokun registered a career-best 117 tackles, four tackles for a loss, four forced fumbles, four pass breakups, and three sacks. The fourth-year linebacker is off to a fast start this season with 56 tackles, two pass breakups, one sack, and a forced fumble in six starts.

Besides his athleticism and versatility as an undersized linebacker, Oluokun got an opportunity to play under Raheem Morris when he was with the Falcons, who is of course the current defensive coordinator of the Rams. Oluokun is also in the final year of his rookie contract, so he’s an affordable option that Los Angeles can make a decision on in the offseason.

1

1

1

1

Source