The Los Angeles Rams came into this draft with Michael Hoecht as their top edge rusher on the depth chart, but they’ll be leaving Kansas City with a potential Day 1 starter at outside linebacker. With the 77th pick in the draft, the Rams took Tennessee edge rusher Byron Young, a talented and explosive defender with a ton of potential.
The Rams badly needed pass-rush help after cutting Leonard Floyd, leaving Hoecht, Daniel Hardy and Keir Thomas as their top edge rushers. They weren’t going to finish the draft without at least one outside linebacker and they didn’t waste any time taking one.
Young is a perfect pick for the Rams. Not only does he fill a pressing need at outside linebacker, but he’s also a high-upside player – even at the age of 25. He’s not the biggest edge rusher, standing 6-foot-2 and 250 pounds, but he makes up for it with speed and explosiveness.
He ran a 4.43 in the 40-yard dash at the combine and had an 11-foot broad jump, ranking second at his position in the 40 and first in the broad jump. He earned a combine score of 82 from Next Gen Stats, ranking third among all edge rushers.
He may not be refined as a run defender yet and given his slight lack of size, he can get pushed around a little bit when trying to stop the run, but he’s an impact player as a pass rusher. He can bend the corner and his short-area quickness is evident, allowing him to slip blockers and get into the backfield quickly.
Obviously, his age is somewhat of a concern since he’s an older prospect, and he also played just two years at Tennessee, but he was productive. He had 12.5 sacks and 23.5 tackles for a loss in those two seasons, and he’s only scratching his potential.
Once he gets some NFL coaching, he should be able to add some other pass-rush moves to his repertoire and find ways to counter when he does get stopped initially. His athleticism and quickness off the line will get him on the field quickly.
