The Los Angeles Rams dropped their second straight preseason game on Saturday night, falling to the Las Vegas Raiders, 34-17. It was another disappointing performance by this young team, with few improvements since the preseason opener a week prior.
There were some standout performances by a handful of players, including Tre Tomlinson and Davis Allen, but Pro Football Focus graded some others pretty harshly.
Here are some of the Rams’ highest- and lowest-graded players from Week 2 of the preseason.
Top 5 offense
- LT Alaric Jackson: 75.5
- LT A.J. Arcuri: 74.5
- WR Xavier Smith: 71.9
- TE Davis Allen: 71.7
- RB Ronnie Rivers: 70.4
Jackson was a stud in pass protection, earning a grade of 79.0. The same goes for Arcuri, who finished the game with a pass blocking grade of 85.0 – second-best on the team. Neither player allowed a pressure.
Allen had the highest receiving grade on the team (76.6) and led the Rams with eight catches for 53 yards. Smith made a spectacular catch on a back-shoulder throw by Stetson Bennett, which helped him earn the second-best receiving grade.
Rivers didn’t force a missed tackle but 23 of his 42 yards did come after contact.
Top 5 defense
- LB DeAndre Square: 90.5
- DT Jonah Williams: 82.9
- S John Johnson III: 82.5
- CB Robert Rochell: 80.9
- LB Jaiden Woodbey: 75.7
Square played 39 snaps and only had one tackle, but he was given a coverage grade of 81.9, which helped his overall grade despite only being targeted once.
Williams had one pressure, which was a QB hit, and he also made one tackle.
Johnson finished with four tackles in just 21 snaps played and didn’t allow a catch on his only target of the game.
Rochell was targeted just once and also didn’t allow a reception, making one tackle in the loss.
Woodbey had five tackles, two stops and allowed just one catch for 1 yard.
Bottom 5 offense
- LT Warren McClendon Jr.: 36.8
- C Mike McAllister: 46.0
- QB Stetson Bennett: 47.4
- TE Camren McDonald: 48.3
- LG Steve Avila: 48.6
Part of what weighed McClendon’s grade down was his pass blocking (28.1) even though he only allowed one pressure. Avila, on the other hand, had a pass-blocking grade of 84.0 but his run-blocking of 41.4 was poor. McAllister was sub-50.0 in both departments.
Bennett had one turnover-worthy play, which was his pick-six, and only had a passer rating of 61.5.
McDonald only played 10 snaps and wasn’t targeted in the game.
Bottom 5 defense
- CB Timarcus Davis: 26.6
- LB Jake Hummel: 29.2
- CB Vincent Gray: 42.3
- DE Earnest Brown IV: 45.4
- CB Shaun Jolly: 46.8
Davis was picked on a lot by the Raiders’ quarterbacks, giving up six catches on nine targets for a total of 134 yards and a touchdown.
Hummel had a pick-six of his own but he also gave up three catches and missed a tackle. His grade probably should’ve been higher overall, though.
Gray and Jolly gave up 27 yards and 22 yards, respectively, in coverage, but neither missed a tackle.
Brown had two tackles but failed to record a single pressure on 12 pass-rush snaps.
Other notables
- CB Tre Tomlinson: 73.5
- S Quentin Lake: 66.3
- DT Kobie Turner: 63.8
- RG Tremayne Anchrum Jr.: 59.5
- WR Demarcus Robinson: 57.3
- RB Zach Evans: 52.1
Tomlinson and Lake were two bright spots in the secondary, allowing a total of one catch for 8 yards on three targets combined. Turner had one pressure and landed a hit on the quarterback in his 24 snaps played, as well.
Anchrum was great in pass protection, earning a grade of 84.0, but he had a 52.5 grade in run blocking. Robinson caught just two of his seven targets for 8 yards combined. Evans had 10 yards after contact but didn’t force any missed tackles.
