Lingering questions: Can linebacker group return to early season form?

It seemed like the Los Angeles Rams had won the lottery last season after they signed Nate Landman to a one-year deal and then found themselves extending him over three years by November. For a team that historically does not invest in the linebacker position, they were able to identify a affordable player that was worth keeping around.

Unfortunately, Landman’s play fell off a cliff around the time of the extension and into the postseason. The new contract has not aged well before it has even started.

But Landman can shed the cloud hanging around his new deal by returning to early-season form. This would be a significant boost to a re-tooled defense that did not make any changes to the linebacker group over the offseason.

Landman’s first 13 games:

• Earned elite PFF game grades of 91.2 (Texans), 89.8 (Seahawks), 87.4 (Cardinals)
• Recorded four of five forced fumbles on the season
• Averaged 6.1 total tackles per game with two in double digits
• Averaged 3.23 run stops per game per Pro Football Focus (PFF)
• Averaged 29 yards per game in coverage per PFF
• Missed just 9 tackles

Landman’s last 7 games:

• Did not record a PFF game grade higher than 63.4
• Forced only a single fumble (NFC Championship)
• Averaged 4.9 tackles per game
• Averaged 2.14 run stops per game
• Averaged 39 yards per game in coverage
• Missed 16 tackles

Landman’s downturn could simply be fixed by being more sure-handed as a tackler, although the same could be said about the Rams’ defense overall before the additions of Trent McDuffie, Jaylen Watson, and Myles Garrett. Despite playing in six fewer games over his slump, he missed seven more tackles in the last seven games than he did in the first 13 contests. That is a staggering number.

And while it’s difficult to fault a player for not making more splash plays, it’s clear that Landman’s “punch outs” were momentum-shifting moments that changed the outcomes of games. The Rams will be better the more often he can force mistakes by the offense, and it’s concerning that this value-add also fell off a cliff towards the end of the season.

The Rams need Landman to perform at the level he demonstrated over the first 13 games last year.

Who will play next to Landman?

Will Omar Speights return in his role as the second linebacker next to Landman in base personnel? He finished as the 19th highest graded player on LA’s defense last year, which suggests this is an area where the team can improve.

To Speights’ credit, he’s a solid run defender and fills his role well. He was the eighth-best in PFF run grade on the team in 2025.

But on a small sample size of just 43 defensive snaps, the best player on the Rams defense was actually undrafted rookie Shaun Dolac at 88.5. Dolac drew an impressive 88.2 run grade on 20 snaps.

This sample size cannot...