Los Angeles Rams: Pay close attention to Samson Ebukam

Los Angeles Rams’ linebacker Samson Ebukam isn’t getting much when it comes to headlines. He could change that quickly though, so pay attention.

It’s impossible to look at the Los Angeles Rams defense and not be impressed. The defensive line boasts Aaron Donald and Ndamukong Suh, as well as Michael Brockers. Meanwhile, the secondary has Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters at cornerback, with John Johnson III and Lamarcus Joyner at safety. If you look at the Rams’ depth chart, you’ll notice Samson Ebukam is listed as their starting outside linebacker.

His name doesn’t exactly fit in with those superstars though, does it? However, that doesn’t mean Ebukam can’t bring value to the Los Angeles defense. In fact, he can bring a ton of it.

In his rookie season in 2017, Ebukam saw sporadic playing time. The linebacker saw 351 defensive snaps, which is just under 33 percent of the time. In that time, he accumulated 31 tackles and two sacks, forcing one fumble. While those numbers don’t jump out at you, they’re pretty impressive for someone playing so sporadically.

Now take this into account — Ebukam will play more this season. At the same time, he’ll be doing so with a ridiculous defensive line in front of him and a superb secondary behind him. Basically, he won’t the the offense’s first worry, or their second.

Ebukam will be almost invisible when it comes to game-planning, and this could lead to him finding plenty of opportunities to go after the quarterback or ball-carrier. Ebukam’s too talented to have offenses forget about him, but they might not have much of a choice when picking their poison.

This would be welcome news to any defensive player, so that right there should tell you his numbers should see solid increases.

Samson Ebukam has a lot of talent and deserves to be noticed more. The Los Angeles Rams defense is set up in such a way however, that many opponents might not be paying attention to him. That’s a dangerous combination.