Turf Show Times
Throughout the Sean McVay era with the Los Angeles Rams, this has not been a team that has heavily invested in the linebacker position. It has consistently been a spot occupied by an undrafted free agent or late-round draft pick. The highest the Rams have taken a linebacker was Ernest Jones in 2021 with the 103rd overall pick.
It seemed as if the Rams were taking a similar approach this offseason. They didn’t draft a linebacker until the fifth round and opted not to bring back Christian Rozeboom. Instead, the Rams signed Nate Landman from the Atlanta Falcons for the veteran minimum of $1.1 million.
To say Nate Landman was one of the best value free agent signings of the spring would be an understatement. For the first 11 weeks of the season, Landman was playing like a top-15 linebacker, was seventh in tackles, and had an impressive four forced fumbles.
While Landman had his deficiencies in coverage, the Rams and defensive coordinator Chris Shula have typically been able to scheme around that with the help of the safeties. Where Landman’s impact was really felt was in the run game. For those first 11 weeks of the season, the Rams were allowing just 3.87 yards per carry with a 47.7 percent success rate. Both of those numbers ranked inside the top 10. Their -0.15 EPA per rush allowed ranked third.
Landman had become a leader and an important piece of the defense. Given how Landman was playing, the Rams went against their typical model and paid Landman prior to Week 12, signing him to a 3-year, $22.5 million extension. It wasn’t necessarily breaking the bank on Landman, but certainly a pay raise and more than the Rams have invested in the position in the past.
However, since then, Landman’s level has dropped and therefore so has the defense as a whole. Player grades from Pro Football Focus certainly aren’t the end-all, be-all and can lack context. With that said, it’s also a good visualization of how Landman’s level has dropped. Even if the grades themselves are ignored, Landman’s missed tackle rate has more than doubled.
Landman has had three missed tackles in each of the last two games. His nine missed tackles since Week 12 are the fourth-most in the NFL and his 19.1 percent missed tackle rate is the fifth-highest. Landman had seven missed tackles in the first 11 weeks of the season. He has nine over just the last five weeks.
It isn’t just bad, it’s Troy Reeder levels of bad. In fact, it’s arguably worse. When Reeder started the first six games of the 2024 season, his missed tackle rate was 11.5 percent. In coverage, he allowed 14-of-19 targets. Again, since Week 12, Landman has a missed tackle rate of 19.1 percent and has allowed 12-of-15 targets in coverage.
During that same time span, the Rams have gone from being a great run defense to a below-average one at best. They are allowing 4.96 yards per carry...
