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Sean McVay shouts out Nathan Landman as a spring standout
Rams linebacker Nathan Landman could be the latest surprise to steal a job at that position going into the next season.
Inside linebacker is one position that the Los Angeles Rams braintrust has no problem inserting undrafted free agents and giving them plenty of play time. As such, fans have a high concern level for the unit, on what seems a year-to-year basis.
It’s no different this year, only two of the seven roster candidates were drafted, Chris Paul from Round 5 last year and Tony Fields, another 5th rounder, this one a Cleveland Browns 2021 pick. The other five, Omar Speights, Troy Reeder, Nate Landman, Shaun Dolac, and Elias Neal never got the call. Reeder was last years MIKE#1 before injury shelved him for the season. Speights took over full-time in Week 9 and while flashing at times, was up and down.
Flash forward to March 2025 and news broke that L.A signed Landman as a bolster for the linebacking corps. Most fans were perplexed with addition, his background was as a back up grade, early down run-stopper, quite similar to what the Rams already had in Reeder and Speights. But according to Rams Head coach Sean McVay, Landman has really shown out this spring and the L.A. leader was effusive in his praise during an OTA recap. He told interviewer JB Long:
“When you look at the back end, a couple of guys who really stood out in the back seven— Nate Landman’s a guy we’re really excited about. His leadership, his presence, I think he’s going to do a really nice job... That was a good signing for us...”
Signed by the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent in 2022 and although Landman made the Dirty Birds opening roster, his action was limited, leading the Falcons to release him and sign him to the practice squad. He again made the roster in 2023 and when an ijury struck down the starter, Landman stepped in staring 14 of 17 games, accumulating 110 tackles, seven for loss, two sacks and three passes defended. In 2024, he started on the Injured Reserve with calf and quad tears, but put into the lineup again because of injury, rebounded for 81 tackles. This past off-season, the Falcons declined to tender Landman a Restricted Free Agent offer.
Three-star high school recruit with a rugby background. Worked the Colorado Buffalos special teams as a freshman before getting on a fast track and piling up big production numbers, 219 tackles, 23 for loss, six sacks and nine passes defended in his sophomore and junior years. He started out hot in 2020 before a mid-season torn Achilles tendon shut him down. The injury bug bit again in his final college season, tearing up a shoulder and shutting down after seven games. For his Colorado career, Landman tallied 349 tackles, 42 for loss, 10 sacks, and 16 passes defended.
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