Turf Show Times
Alaric Jackson had his best season yet in a contract year
Whether or not you expected the Los Angeles Rams to make the playoffs in 2024 is one thing. The fact that they made an improbable comeback after starting 1-4 is another.
A turnaround on that scale doesn’t happen without a handful of individual players excelling beyond reasonable expectations and growing their role on the team.
These are the seven individuals that had the most surprising (in a good way) performances on the season:
There’s simply no better time to have the best season of your career than a contract year. Jackson has positioned himself to be rewarded handsomely for his efforts this offseason—whether by the Rams or if he signs elsewhere in free agency.
Out of 59 NFL tackles regardless of side with at least 611 snaps, Jackson ranked 17th overall according to Pro Football Focus (PFF) with an offensive grade of 78.4. He finished 18th in run blocking at 75.2 and 20th in pass blocking at 79.2. That’s an impressive, well-rounded profile that will draw attention from around the league.
On their list of the top 100 NFL free agents, Jackson ranked #46. PFF projected his eventual contract at 4-years, $58M ($14.5M annually).
That’s a solid body of work by a former undrafted free agent and someone who had previously missed notable time due to injuries and suspension.
If Jackson isn’t the Rams’ left tackle of the future, who is?
It’s a little rich to put the Rams’ only first round selection since 2016 on a list of biggest surprises; however, Verse proved himself to not just be good for a rookie but possibly established himself as one of the NFL’s best pass rushers for the foreseeable future. He’s already in the company of Myles Garrett, Nick Bosa, TJ Watt, Micah Parsons, and other household names.
That doesn’t even mention that Verse was the third EDGE rusher taken in last year’s NFL Draft at 19th overall. The Indianapolis Colts, who picked Laiatu Latu 15th, and Minnesota Vikings, who took Dallas Turner two spots before Verse, have to be kicking themselves in regret.
As the cliché goes: sometimes you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.
That saying couldn’t be more true for the Rams and Tyler Higbee after this season. After Higbee suffered a significant knee injury in the 2023 wildcard round against the Detroit Lions, many fans had wrote off Higbee’s career in Los Angeles. LA attempted to future proof the position by signing Colby Parkinson from the Seattle Seahawks to an early free agent contract, but by the end of the season Parkinson was as low as third or fourth on the depth chart behind Higbee, Davis Allen, and Hunter Long. All four were involved at times to their credit.
The veteran amassed 178 yards and three touchdowns on 18 receptions in roughly four-and-a-half games after his...
