Bad luck or bad planning? Did Rams make mistake not addressing edge in free agency?

For one reason or another, the Rams still haven’t addressed the need at edge rusher

With Haason Reddick being traded to the New York Jets for a 2026 conditional third-round pick, it seems as if the Los Angeles Rams will be waiting until the draft, specifically 19th overall, to address the biggest need on the roster. It wasn’t long ago that the Rams would have headed those conversations. Now, they may not have even been in the running. It’s the beginning of a new era of Rams football, especially on defense.

Despite EDGE being the biggest need on the roster and rookie players at that position typically taking a jump in year two, it is surprising that the Rams didn’t make a single move at the edge position. It’s true that they brought back Michael Hoecht, but that seemed to be more of a shift from an original plan. The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue initially reported that they weren’t planning to bring Hoecht back. However, with how the edge market took shape, it ended up being something that they had to do.

That ‘have to do it’ mentality isn’t a corner that most NFL front offices want to be pushed into. It’s typically a sign that plan a, b, or potentially even c didn’t come to fruition. There were reports that the Rams had interest in former Miami Dolphins EDGE Andrew Van Ginkel, but wanted to wait out his market. Van Ginkel ended up signing with the Minnesota Vikings.

One by one, edge rushers became unavailable. Danielle Hunter went to Houston to go play at home. Josh Uche opted to stay in New England for $3M despite getting offers up to $15M elsewhere. It’s unclear if the Rams were involved in conversations for either player.

Brian Burns ended up with the New York Giants in a tag and trade scenario. Bryce Huff and Chase Young also ended up with other teams.

It’s not as if the Rams didn’t have money in free agency or choose to spend. Both Kevin Dotson and Jonah Jackson signed near top-of-the-market deals at guard. It simply seemed as if the Rams weren’t interested in the top edge players in free agency or for one reason or another missed out.

The fact that the team knew that Aaron Donald was going to retire makes the decision not to go after a top-level defender and pass rusher that much more confusing. Now, it’s possible that the Rams do trust the development of players like Nick Hampton and Ochaun Mathis. Byron Young could also take a step this year.

At the same time, Hampton and Mathis barely played as rookies. Hampton and Mathis were on the field for just 10 percent of the team’s defensive snaps and recorded eight combined pressures in those snaps. Additionally, it’s fair to wonder what Young’s ceiling is. Young is 26 going into year two and hit a wall in his first season. He had three or more pressures in each of his first seven games. Young had three such games the rest of the year.

The Rams need a player that they can trust to get to the quarterback and it’s hard seeing that being a rookie. Since 2020 only three out of 12 rookie edge rushers drafted in the first round between picks 15 and 32 have more than three sacks in their first seasons.

That’s a primary reason why it remains so surprising that over the last two years with so much youth at the edge rusher position on the roster that the Rams haven’t signed a veteran, even on a cheap deal.

Drafting a player like Chop Robinson or Laiatu Latu wouldn’t be a bad thing as both are good players. It just seems fair to question their impacts as rookies and if too much would be asked of them given the state of the others pass rushers on the roster.

With just the draft left in the offseason and limited trade options remaining, the Rams have left themselves with just the draft. That’s not a bad thing, but once again, it somewhat limits options at the 19th overall pick from a position prospect. After the first five edge rushers, there is a pretty significant drop off.

Even with scheming, if the Rams want to get pressure on the quarterback consistently, they need players that they can rely on to do that independent of the scheme. With the players currently on the roster, that task may be easier said than done.

This isn’t to say that the Rams haven’t tried because they clearly have. However, this is certainly a position that they didn’t necessarily want to be come April. Yet, it is their current reality. With Donald retiring, the Rams defense is one without many familiar faces and is very star-depleted. The page has turned on the Rams defense of the last five years that was fill of them.

Up to this point in the offseason, the Rams have struck out at the edge rusher position. Only time will tell how they decide to address the position in the draft.