Rams projected 2020 starters

I’ve posted several pieces about the LA Rams projected starters for 2020, as well as on position battles and we did some voting. With all that in the bag, let’s talk about 11 potential starters on each side of the ball and the leg guys.

I say “Not-too-early” for these because if the season is really happening on time it’s not that far away — HOWEVER — of course I would expect some of our projections to change after even a week of camp. Consider this a first edition of something that’s likely to change but perhaps not by much. In the case of the o-line and linebackers though, maybe a bit much.

Offense

QB - Jared Goff

RB - Cam Akers

WR - Cooper Kupp

WR - Robert Woods

WR - Josh Reynolds

TE - Tyler Higbee

LT - Andrew Whitworth

LG - Austin Corbett

C - Austin Blythe

RG - David Edwards

RT - Rob Havenstein

Notes:

You could argue for two tight ends and put Gerald Everett in there instead of Reynolds. I have no issues with bucking traditions. Turf Show readers decided on the interior three and their most suited places within those spots. Akers beat out Henderson by a 70-30 margin in the voting, so not close. There may be sentiment that even if he’s not starting in Week 1, Akers will be the main back over the majority of the season.

Defense / Special Teams

DE - Aaron Donald

NT - A’Shawn Robinson

DE - Michael Brockers

LB - Leonard Floyd

LB - Micah Kiser

LB - Samson Ebukam

CB - Jalen Ramsey

FS - John Johnson

SS - Taylor Rapp

CB - Troy Hill

CB - David Long

K - Lirim Hajrullahu

P - Johnny Hekker

Notes:

Though the Rams base is a 3-4, I opted to list a third cornerback over a fourth linebacker as I think that either a corner or a safety could get more snaps than Travin Howard or whoever ends up as the fourth-most played linebacker. Kiser won the voting rather easily. Ebukam also won by a large margin. The closest vote of all came down to nickel, which is where David Long beat out Darious Williams 42% to 35%, with Terrell Burgess getting 23%.

If we are continuing the tradition of bucking tradition, could Burgess win the starting strong safety job and could Rapp play closer to the line of scrimmage?

Hajrullah was the fan favorite at kicker. I now realize that we never got into the punt and kick return situation, which is also a camp battle. Jojo Natson is now with the Cleveland Browns and there are many names in the mix at this point. The experience of someone like Greg Dortch or Nsimba Webster may not matter as much now that there is a new special teams coordinator.