Los Angeles Rams: Dante Fowler trade offers immense upside
The Los Angeles Rams landed Dante Fowler ahead of the NFL Trade Deadline, giving their edge pass rush a boost and big-time upside.
The Los Angeles Rams enter Week 9 of the 2018 season as the league’s lone undefeated team. They’ve been unbelievably impressive, even if their 8-0 record hasn’t come without some close calls. The Rams are Super Bowl favorites, without question, but they still could’ve stood to upgrade at some spots heading into the NFL Trade Deadline. Enter Dante Fowler.
As first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Rams have traded a 2019 third-round pick and a 2020 fifth-round pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for Fowler. The Rams land a pass-rusher that offers them huge upside at an area of need.
For the Jaguars, it’s not hard to see why they’d part with Fowler. Not only is their defensive front loaded, but Fowler has disappointed largely since being made the third-overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. Having said that, the Florida product has been impressive in spells this season, more so than in any year previously in the NFL.
In terms of pure pass rush grade, Pro Football Focus (subscription required) has Fowler as the seventh-best player in the league this season. Granted, he’s played far fewer snaps than Calais Campbell and Yannick Ngakoue in that role, but he’s been impressive when on the field in that capacity.
That type of impact off the edge is something that the Rams have been lacking this season. While Aaron Donald and Ndamukong Suh are terrors on the inside, the edge-rushing situation in LA leaves a bit to be desired. Samson Ebukam is PFF’s 24th-ranked pass-rusher this season, but no other edge defender on the Rams ranks inside the top 50 in that regard.
We know that the potent offense of Los Angeles can score on anyone, but their defense has been susceptible at times this year, possibly due to injuries in the secondary. Having said that, a secondary’s best friend is a pass rush, and Fowler has the potential to strengthen that in a big way.
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With the addition of Fowler, a Rams team that was already the Super Bowl favorite gets even stronger. It’s definitely a gamble given Fowler’s overall track record in the NFL to this point, but it’s a risk worth taking for a contending team. If it works out, it makes a possible perfect regular season that much more realistic for Los Angeles.
For more grades, advanced statistics and more at Pro Football Focus, subscribe to PFF’s EDGE or ELITE subscriptions at ProFootballFocus.com.