When news broke that the Los Angeles Rams were losing Christian Rozeboom in free agency, fans openly wondered how Les Snead and company would address the middle linebacker position.
Now granted, it’s not like Rozeboom was particularly good in 2025; in fact, he was actually quite bad, as his sub-60 PFF rankings in overall grade, pass-rushing grade, and run defense grade clearly prove. With that being said, his absence does leave the team light at one of their biggest holes last fall, with some competition needed for rookie breakout starter Omar Speight and some tertiary performers.
Fortunately, on Tuesday, Snead came through in a major way, signing Nate Landman away from the Atlanta Falcons to fill out the linebackers’ room heading into the 2025 NFL Draft.
Originally entering the NFL as an undrafted free agent from Colorado, the Harare, Zimbabwe native has been a very interesting player at inside linebacker for the Dirty Birds, amassing 192 tackles, two sacks, six forced fumbles, and a pick over his three-year run. While he took a step back in 2024 versus the high water mark of his 2023 season, Landman did spend the year playing under former Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris, who likely still uses similar terminology to his predecessor, Chris Shula.
While Rozeboom may not have been the best linebacker from a statistical perspective, at least within the PFF system, Landman is a notable improvement, with his overall grade of 65.7, ranking 83rd among 186 total players, while his run defense grade of 73.9 came in even higher at 44th overall. While Landman could use some work in coverage and as a rusher, ranking 99th and 100th respectively in those two categories, he is an ascending talent who should fill the Rams’ biggest hole if he isn’t beaten out in camp.
Is Landman a lock to win the job this fall next to Speight? No not necessarily, as the Rams could opt to add a top-tier talent at the position in the draft or maybe even trade for another performer like they traded away Ernest Jones IV last year. But what Landman does is raise the floor on the season, which is very good news for a Rams team that really needs to slow down the run.
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