The Los Angeles Rams have a plethora of needs on the roster and they’ve been inactive for the majority of the free agency period of the offseason. Entering the 2023 NFL draft, the interior of the defensive line is an area of the team the Rams could address.
Greg Gaines joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers via free agency, so outside of Aaron Donald, the defensive front is looking thin for Los Angeles. Besides Donald, the starting defensive line currently includes Jonah Williams and Bobby Brown III.
With the Rams having plenty of draft capital to use in this year’s draft, Byron Young out of Alabama is an interior defensive lineman prospect to keep an eye on.
Background
Young spent four years at Alabama with 28 games he’s been active and 20 starts in his final two seasons. In those two seasons, Young combined for 81 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, six sacks, and a forced fumble.
Following a successful four-year tenure at Alabama, Young attended the Senior Bowl. While he didn’t run a 40-yard dash at the NFL scouting combine, Young posted a 7.68 three-cone drill (7th among IDL).
How he fits the Rams
With Gaines gone in free agency and A’Shawn Robinson still sitting in free agency, the Rams could use a defensive lineman like Young that can play in odd or even fronts. Young is lengthy with 34 3/8 inch arms and is good at using his leverage in the interior.
The Alabama product flashed more potential as a pass rusher in 2022 and he’s a formidable run defender. While Young will need time to develop in the interior, he’d be a solid rotational defender for the Rams until he’s prepared to start in the NFL.
Draft projection
With Young playing at Alabama, he’ll certainly have plenty of suitors in the 2023 NFL draft. That being said, most mock drafts have Young going late on Day 2 or early on Day 3 of the draft.
After trading Jalen Ramsey to the Miami Dolphins, the Rams now have picks No. 69 and 77 in the third round. Los Angeles could use either of those picks on Young if they have him high on their draft board, or they could hope he falls to the fifth round.
