When you lose one of the best players in the NFL at a certain position, that unit is going to suffer. The Los Angeles Rams are going to experience that this season after parting ways with All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner, who they cut after just one season – a mutual decision between the team and player.
The tandem of Wagner and Jones had a lot of fans excited in 2022 and by all means, it worked out the way the Rams hoped it would. Wagner was a stud and Jones did an excellent job next to him in the middle of the defense. now with Wagner gone, it’s Jones’ turn to step up as a leader.
He’s embracing that opportunity as the defensive signal caller and primary linebacker, but that doesn’t mean the Rams are in great shape at that position.
In fact, Pro Football Focus doesn’t see a team in worse shape at linebacker. PFF ranked every team’s linebacker unit entering the 2023 season and the Rams were at the very bottom, 32nd overall.
Four linebackers saw the field for Los Angeles last season. Bobby Wagner played 1,079 snaps and was the best linebacker in football. Ernest Jones played 723 and was solid in run defense (78.8), suspect in coverage (51.2) and mediocre overall (63.6). Two other players played a total of nine snaps.
The loss of Wagner is devastating for this unit. With the All-Pro in the fold, Rams linebackers were second in overall grading and first in run-defense grading.
The rebuild is on in Los Angeles now. Jones remains a viable starter, but there is not another linebacker on this team who was even drafted. Christian Rozeboom, with a total of 10 snaps, is the only other player who has taken any defensive snaps in the NFL. Everyone on the Rams defense except Jones and Aaron Donald will be in an open competition for playing time.
Jones is going to go from playing about two-thirds of the snaps to playing almost all of them (hopefully), remaining on the field for all three downs. Rozeboom seems like the primary candidate to fill in as the No. 2 linebacker, but he’ll have to earn that role.
What works in the Rams’ favor – and perhaps what gives them a better linebacker unit than PFF is giving them credit for – is their reliance on single-backer sets. Under Sean McVay, the Rams have primarily used just one inside linebacker on most snaps. They run a 3-4 scheme, but it’s rare for them to have two inside linebackers and two outside linebackers on the field together. Last year was the exception because they had Wagner and Jones, two players they wanted out there most of the time.
So in 2023, the Rams will almost certainly shift back to a defense that typically has just Jones on the field at inside linebacker, along with two edge rushers, three defensive linemen and five defensive backs. They would love to have three reliable safeties to lean on, as they have in recent years with Jordan Fuller, Taylor Rapp, Nick Scott and John Johnson before he left, virtually replacing the second linebacker on the field.
While no one is arguing the Rams have one of the better linebacker units in the NFL, it’s not the worst. Jones is poised for a breakout year in his first season as a full-time player and as long as they get even average play from their second linebacker, Los Angeles will be just fine in the middle.
