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Who was the last draft pick for the the Los Angeles Rams to come from the Pittsburgh Panthers?
You guessed it. DT Aaron Donald.
An undersized defensive lineman coming out of Pitt, he’s turned out to be among the league’s best and is deserving of a $100 million contract. Now fast forward three years, and the Rams are in somewhat of a similar position. Faced with a change in the defensive formation (3-4), they identified a large hole on the roster at OLB/EDGE/pass rusher, and went after Donald’s former teammate in Ejuan Price. I actually wrote a scouting report on Ejuan Price which you can jump back to and get a feel for his polish.
Roster Battle
As a late round rookie, Price will slide in as a 3-4 OLB in the new scheme under Defensive Coordinator Wade Phillips. It was reported that earlier in the offseason, he was working at WLB (ROLB), which is currently held by former Pro-Bowler Robert Quinn.
Price will likely be Quinn’s immediate backup and joins a group of two veterans (Quinn and Barwin), and a fellow rookie in Samson Ebukam.
Expectations
As noted in that previous scouting report, Price’s game shows a lot of polish. That probably makes sense as he’s already 24-years old. He has no shortcomings against the run, but also offers juice as a pass rusher.
Chances of Making Final Roster (8/10)
As the immediate backup to Robert Quinn, and a polished player specifically as a pass rusher, Price offers a versatile skill set in a league starved for pass rushers. Also, the Rams are thin at the OLB spot, which only helps Price’s chances.