Since Ndamukong Suh left in 2019, the Los Angeles Rams have not sunk a lot of assets into the nose tackle position. Their last two starters at that position have been Sebastian Joseph-Day (sixth-round pick) and Greg Gaines (fourth-round pick), which worked out perfectly for L.A.
Next in line is Bobby Brown III, another former fourth-round pick who’s hoping to make the third-year leap. Brown has never been a starter before and has played just 19 games in his career, but he’s expected to be the Rams’ primary nose tackle as of now.
Assuming he replaces Gaines in the middle, Brown will end up being one of the team’s more important players, given the fact that they don’t really have a great backup option behind him right now.
2022 stats
- 9 games (1 start)
- 8 tackles
- 1 tackle for a loss
- 5 total pressures (PFF)
- Overall PFF grade: 62.8
Position group
Looking at the Rams’ roster, Brown is really the only true nose tackle – from a size perspective, at least. He’s listed at 6-foot-4 and 324 pounds, with the next-closest defensive lineman being Taron Vincent, who’s 310 pounds and unlikely to make the 53-man roster.
Brown is by no means experienced or proven as an NFL player, having played just 19 games in his career, but the Rams don’t necessarily have a better option at the nose. Marquise Copeland and Kobie Turner are both between 285 and 290 pounds, which is a bit small for nose tackle, but they could fill in there in passing situations when the Rams go lighter on the D-line.
It would be wise for the Rams to add a bigger defensive tackle to compete with Brown on the interior, pushing him to earn his starting spot. But for now, Los Angeles seems confident in him taking the third-year jump.
2023 outlook
Brown was a fourth-round pick in 2021, so the Rams thought fairly highly of him coming out of Texas A&M. The problem is he’s been blocked on the depth chart by the likes of Sebastian Joseph-Day and Greg Gaines. Now with both players gone, Brown is in line to start for the first time.
He’s much closer to the body type that Joseph-Day played with versus Gaines, with Joseph-Day also being 6-foot-4 compared to Gaines’ more compact 6-foot-1 frame. With Brown’s added size in the middle, the Rams’ defensive line will look a bit different.
Filling the shoes of Gaines will be difficult but no one should rule out a third-year leap from Brown. It wasn’t until 2021 that Gaines truly broke out, and that was also his third season in the NFL. Brown has the potential to be the next good nose tackle for Los Angeles.
