Saturday night was the first taste of NFL football for a lot of Rams players, many of whom are rookies. Byron Young was among them, stepping onto the field at SoFi Stadium for the first time.
The third-round rookie is an impressive athlete who’s built like a five-year veteran, but there’s still a steep learning curve coming from the SEC to the NFL.
The Rams challenged Young in his preseason debut against the Chargers, beyond just trying to see his talent level. Raheem Morris said they purposely gave him 20 straight snaps on defense, which isn’t likely to happen often in the regular season for a pass rusher.
Morris said Young looked great when he was fresh but there was noticeable fatigue as the game progressed.
“When he was fresh and healthy and ready to go, he looked awesome. When he was tired, he looked tired. It’s one of those things and it’s like, it was also strategically done. How many times do you go out there and play 20 snaps in a row? Not often. Usually, you get a chance to get some subs, particularly being up there and being the guy that rushes, you get three hard rushes, you may get a blow, you get somebody in there for you on some of the normal ‘D and D’ (down and distance) things and then all of a sudden, you come back out and you’re fresh and ready to rush. Everybody’s not an alien like Aaron (Donald), so until you develop that alien-type status, you do those things.”
Young finished the game with one tackle but he failed to record a pressure on nine pass-rush opportunities. He did have a sack called back because he grabbed the quarterback’s facemask, but it was a good rush by the rookie defender.
Sean McVay said the Rams are counting on both Young and fellow third-round rookie Kobie Turner this season, so they’re expecting them to contribute early on. Young is already penciled in as a starter at outside linebacker on the initial depth chart, with Turner listed as a co-starter at nose tackle, too.
They may not be ready for the regular season just yet but fortunately, they have two more opportunities to improve this preseason.
