Rams visit with LB Na'il Diggs

by Ryan Van Bibber on Mar 16, 2010 6:50 AM CDT in 2010 St. Louis Rams offseason

The St. Louis Rams hosted free agent LB Na'il Diggs last week, according to the PD. He could be a solution for the team's need at weakside LB.

Diggs is probably an upgrade over Paris Lenon; he has been a starter for most of his career, including 11 games last year. He missed some time with a rib injury. Diggs supposedly plays the run acceptably. As far as I can tell 2006 was the last year he played WLB on a full time basis, and racked up just 61 tackles in 10 starts. Of course, that was his first year in Carolina, so maybe that had something to do with the low totals. He could start for the Rams, though he probably fits best as a role player and special teams guy.

And that could be exactly what the Rams have in mind for Diggs, who'll be 32 when the season starts. The Rams needed to get better depth at almost every position, and Diggs definitely upgrades the linebackers if you look at him in that role. Even as a stopgap solution playing next to James Laurinaitis, Diggs has some value. I know there's frustration with the Rams free agent season, but the few moves they have made address important needs in the team's player depth, the places where they were desperately exposed last season when injuries struck. Don't underestimate the value of those kinds of moves.

I suspect the Rams will still have their eye on linebacker talent in the draft, knowing that a 32-year-old is not a long term solution to a big need on the weakside. While a trade up into the late first for a player like Sean Weatherspoon would be awesome, it's important to remember that plenty of solid starting 4-3 outside linebackers come from later rounds of the draft. Spags and Flajoe, and many other coaches, have a track record of working with players taken on the second day of the draft and getting solid production out of them.

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Hello Ram fans

Diggs can still play, period. He has been better on the strong side for us, he’s a good run stopper. We hated to lose him but appear to have capable back-ups ready hence the reason for his release. We have been predicting he would lose his starting job the past two training camps but he withstood the challenge each time.

I blog the Carolina Panthers at www.catscratchreader.com

by Jaxon on Mar 16, 2010 8:06 AM CDT reply actions

Wait, what?!...

This guys isn’t an ex-Eagle or ex-Giant. What is Spags thinking? I kid, I kid. Slow and steady wins the free-agent race. I’m just hoping we don’t become, as GM Martin Mayhew described, the Detroit “roster full of backups” Lions.

by Boofer on Mar 16, 2010 10:21 AM CDT reply actions

This one I'm pulling for

Most of the FA’s I have been kind of “ho hum” about, I like that they are filling the second team with guys in FA and not the draft but that still doesn’t quite equal excitement, you know what I mean?

But Diggs is a pretty good LB, so I hope they go forward with this one.

This board has all kinds of opininions…some of us don’t want a roster full of backups, yet some of us want to trade away our only playmaking star.

I look at the progression in the personnel over time, and I see they’re moving away from a roster that had 30 players that were seventh rounders and undrafted players……now adding solid pro’s in the backup spots to cull the 7th rounder/Undrafted guys….and meanwhile they have guys who could start anywhere. Jackson, Jason Smith, Laurinaitis, Jason Brown, Donnie Jones, Josh Brown all of whom are definitely starting material.

Hang in there Rams fans. They put excellent players in the very key spots of LT, C,and MLB….got one already in RB…and now maybe they’ll add a DT or QB….things are looking up on the whole.

The blind stares of a million pairs of eyes, lookin hard but won't realize, that they'll never see the C. And when I'm rollin by, you can't see me!

by CoachConnors on Mar 16, 2010 10:29 AM CDT reply actions

it's important to remember that plenty of solid starting 4-3 outside linebackers come from later rounds of the draft

Yep, this is WHY an IMPACT DE and an IMPACT DT are needed!

by jlcdb70 on Mar 16, 2010 12:54 PM CDT reply actions

i agree

by Danteslion on Mar 16, 2010 1:01 PM CDT up reply actions

I personally would like this move!

Coach Flajole is familiar with the guy and vice versa. He is versatile on the LB core and I think he gives us more than Lenon did last year. I’ll take the depth.

by CaliRamMan on Mar 16, 2010 4:31 PM CDT reply actions

I thought the team was in a youth movement?

But this guy is 32, Robbins is 33, and Feeley’s no youngster either. And even though the Saints are acting like they’re interested, aren’t both Little and Hall in their mid-30s? Sometimes young late rounders and undrafted players get better and surprise folks. But usually NFL players over 30 are on the decline. Isn’t LT only 30??

by RamChop on Mar 16, 2010 10:22 PM CDT reply actions