During Sean McVay’s tenure with the Rams, he and the front office didn’t place much emphasis on the center-back position. They traded Alec Ogletree in 2018 after renewing him five months earlier. They started Cory Littleton for two seasons and he played relatively well, but they first took him on as an undrafted free agent and didn’t sign him for a renewal when his contract expired. The first significant addition they made was last year when they drafted Ernest Jones in the third round.
As a result, the position of the inside linebacker has been a weakness of the defense for years. But after Bobby Wagner was accepted into free agency this offseason, that’s no longer the case. The midfield went from weak point to strength.
Whether it was getting the ball to the teeth of the Rams defense or throwing it down the middle, opposing offenses knew exactly how to attack Los Angeles. Throwing it out against Jalen Ramsey was unwise. It also wasn’t wise to name long developing plays that required the quarterback to hold the ball when Aaron Donald (and Von Miller) went for them.
Teams had the most success throwing it down the middle with short, quick passes and trying to find disagreements with Troy Reeder and the Rams’ linebackers. The 49ers also found ways to use their fast offense to exploit weakness in Los Angeles’ defenses, stretching the field laterally to force Reeders to cover ground, fill in gaps and make tackles.
Not only is Wagner a far better tackler than any linebacker the Rams have had in the past 15 years, he may also be the smartest. His instinct and awareness against both the run and the pass are among the best of any NFL linebacker right now, and that’s something the Rams have been sorely lacking for years.
In his career, Wagner’s worst coverage grade from Pro Football Focus 2015 was 56.4. Last season, Reeder’s coverage was 34.8 and a career-best 59.2 in 2020. Wagner had two seasons with coverages of 90.0 or better and four years at 70.0-plus.
Wagner’s run defense score was also never lower than 60.0, and in every year but one his run defense score was at least a 76.7. Not to keep bringing up Reeder’s issues, but he had a run defense grade of 51.8 last season and his missed tackle rate was 14.1% – almost double Wagner’s (7.8%). ), which was also the second-highest of Wagner’s career.
As encouraging as Ernest Jones’ rookie year was, his running defense score was a mere 42.5. He was great at coverage (69.5 degrees), but it’s a small sample size that will certainly grow next season, which will give us a much better idea of Jones’ strengths and weaknesses.
With Wagner coming on, the Rams know exactly what they need to know at the second level. You get an intelligent linebacker who can read plays, fill in gaps, and defend center of the field in cover. This is a terrible throw from Jimmy Garoppolo, but it’s also a great play from Wagner to hit the pass.
With a combination of Wagner and Jones, the Rams have a young, up-and-coming linebacker who has shown promise in the coverage to work alongside a veteran leader who is as good against the run as any linebacker in football — and not only , because he was 170 tackles last season.
Wagner finds football and rarely misses duels. That hasn’t been the case with Linebacker in Los Angeles for several years, and next season should see an immediate improvement in that area.