According to Next Gen Stats, the Los Angeles Rams have the highest pressure rate in the NFL as the defense is pressuring the quarterback on 41.3% of dropbacks through four games. This is in spite of having the NFL’s least-expensive edge rushers, defensive linemen, and linebackers in the NFL, and Jared Verse is ranked fifth overall in the league for individual pressure rate at 18%.
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Only Myles Garrett, Will McDonald, Danielle Hunter, and Will Anderson have a higher pressure rate through four games than Verse, and teammate Braden Fiske is 11th at 15.9%.
That’s great news for a Rams defense that is relying heavily on two rookies and two second-year players who have been significantly more productive than the average defensive linemen picked at their draft positions; for Fiske to be doing this much as a second round rookie, it’s starting to add up why L.A. gave up so much to get him.
Byron Young has a 12% pressure rate and Kobie Turner is at 10.9%.
However, that might be the only good news about the defense so far.
Opponents are passing on the Rams at a 45% clip, the lowest in the NFL, which is perhaps one reason why L.A.’s rate of pressures is so high: They have only seen 109 pass attempts thrown against them this season, so it’s a much smaller sample size than some teams.
Opponents have run on the Rams 133 times and L.A.’s EPA/rush allowed of +0.10 is fourth-worst in the NFL, while the Rams overall EPA/play allowed of +0.17 is the worst in the NFL. L.A.’s 8.1 yards per passing play allowed is 0.7 yards worse than the Cardinals, the team in 31st place.
Even if the Rams did build a special pass rushing defense, it won’t matter unless the Rams can also build an adequate run defense and secondary.
It’s a good thing for the Rams to have added several exciting front-seven players in the last two drafts, but perhaps too high of a cost to pay with some veteran losses and retirements over the same period of time.
