Random Ramsdom: Should LA consider this trade with Jacksonville?

Thanks for checking out today’s links and hopefully you are having a decent day so far! We’ve got a few links for you below, I don’t think anything ground breaking this morning but we’ve got a hypothetical trade and I really do enjoy the Aaron Donald quotes below. He was more of the focus for a Random Ramsdom earlier this week.

Do you have any hypothetical trades in mind for the Los Angels Rams at this point in the season? Are you buying this Donald hype? Can he be more drive than he’s already been.

Please comment on anything you’d like and thanks for stopping by today!

LA Rams acquire Jaguars OLB K’Lavon Chaisson in trade proposal (blackandteal)

“The Jacksonville Jaguars are still confident fourth-year outside linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson live up to his draft billing. But if they don’t see enough progress from him in the upcoming months, they could trade him before this year’s deadline. If that’s the path they take, they should then consider sending him packing to the Los Angeles Rams as Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report suggests.

Ballentine compiled a list of trades each NFL should make before the 2023 season starts and has the Jags shipping Chaisson to the Rams, noting that the time has come to move on from the former LSU Tiger, and Los Angeles would be an ideal landing spot due to their need to bolster their pass rush.

“The Jaguars drafted two more pass rushers in Yasir Abdullah and Tyler Lacy. That gives them two more options and there are other veteran options on the free agent market or potentially available trade that Doug Pederson might be more comfortable with. The Rams make sense as a trade partner.

They are incredibly young on defense and need edge-rushers after releasing Leonard Floyd this offseason. Chaisson is a worth a flier for them because he has a better chance of breaking out with a change of scenery after three years of stagnation in Jacksonville.”

As Ballentine noted, the Jags just drafted a couple of pass rushers, Tyler Lacy in Round 4, and Yasir Abdullah in the fifth. However, neither one has shown enough yet to make the team’s brass think they can make an impact in 2023. Maybe as training camp progresses, they’ll move up the depth chart and make Chaisson expendable but they’re both unproven for the time being.

On top of that, Chaisson is currently No. 3 behind Travon Walker and Josh Allen and if he makes an impression in training camp, he’ll get an uptick in playing time. In the same manner, defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell believes the Texas native has the tools and talent to succeed. Caldwell also says that Chaisson hasn’t had the benefit of a full season and if he can manage to stay healthy, he might be able to hit his stride.

Chaisson, a first-round pick in the 2020 draft, had the fifth-year option on his rookie deal declined. He appeared in all 16 games and started three as a rookie but has seen his playing time decrease considerably the last two years. On top of that, having played in three different systems and different positions might have hindered his development. However, he will no longer have an excuse as he’s entering the second season in Caldwell’s scheme.”

LA Rams HC Sean McVay gives update on Stetson Bennett’s progress (ugawire.usatoday.com)

“Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay says rookie quarterback Stetson Bennett had his “sharpest day” of camp on Sunday.

The former Georgia Bulldog is competing for the backup role behind Georgia great Matthew Stafford.

“He’s done good,” McVay said. “I thought he had a good day today. I thought the receivers and tight ends, I thought guys made plays for him. He’s pretty steady. What I really like about him is if a play doesn’t go well, he’s able to reset himself and go to the next play. You can definitely feel the athleticism show up that you guys saw on display during his career at Georgia. I think he is getting more and more comfortable.

I thought today was a real bright spot for him. I think today seemed like his sharpest day to camp up to this point. He definitely looked more comfortable today. You can just see he is getting more comfortable with just some of the concepts. Because it is very different. Football is still football, and when the ball is snapped, there are some things that make sense to him.”

Bennett was taken by the Rams in the fourth-round of the 2023 NFL draft after an exceptional career in Athens. If the two-time national champion keeps making plays like these, it’s only a matter of time before Bennett gets his chance as a pro.”

How Rams ‘Realistic’ Training Approach is Helping Aaron Donald (fannation/ramsdigest)

“Sean (McVay) gave me a lot of double and triple-teams,” Donald said. “It’s realistic right now so me just trying to find ways to defeat that and obviously working with other guys with different games and things like that to trying to play off it. So right now, it is about two, three guys on me, so it’s what I expect on the season so I’m getting it now.”

At first, the Rams’ new strategy frustrated Donald, as it is not something your typical star player sees on a day-to-day basis.

However, he also understands the idea, noting that it will ultimately make him a better player if he is able to work on those kinds of challenges on a daily basis.

“The coaches told me they were going to slide every single play so I was kind of mad because you want to be able to work different things,” Donald said. “Trying to find things that I need to do better and what I could do to try to defeat a hard slide protection and things like that. So it isn’t going to do nothing but make me better.”

It is hard to believe that a player of his caliber could get any better than Donald already is.

But at the end of the day, he holds himself to the highest standards, and after playing in just 11 games in 2022 - a career-low - Donald is anxious to prove himself.

“I’ve got a lot to prove,” Donald said. “I didn’t have the season I wanted, obviously coming off of an injury and things like that. I feel like to get to where you need to be, it’s like starting over from scratch again. It’s a brand new year. Last year was last year, but there’s a little fire lit into me.”

5 LA Rams benefiting most from Sony Michel’s sudden retirement (ramblinfan)

“The fact is that Sony Michel has been to the top of the NFL mountain twice in his short five-season career. In terms of what he had left to challenge him, I suppose the battle for a roster spot with no assurances of playing time in the 2023 NFL season is quite the letdown from two Super Bowl winning rosters. So in hindsight, I do understand why Michel chose the here and now to retire. But what of the LA Rams? This is how LA Rams head coach Sean McVay responded:

“So all four of those guys right now at running back (Cam Akers, Kyren Williams, Zach Evans and Ronnie Rivers) have done a good job. But I do think whether it’s a veteran or not, you definitely probably need to add a fifth body to that room, maybe even a sixth. So we’ll look at somebody.”

- Rams HC Sean McVay

Sony Michel was simply a veteran who could be counted on to deliver. The need for that role on the Rams roster has not suddenly gone away.

5 LA Rams benefiting most from Sony Michel’s sudden retirement

V: Whoever the next FA RB is to be signed

IV: IOL Steve Avila

III: RB Kyren Williams

II: TE Hunter Long

I: RB Zach Evans”