Rams Rumors: Safety, Kicker, OL, McClendon

With Jordan Fuller finally making a healthy return after missing most of the 2022 season on injured reserve, the Rams should be set at one of their safety spots. Fuller had started all 28 games he’d appeared in over his first two years, and he’s stood out so far this offseason in OTAs and minicamp. The battle for who will start next to Fuller, though, has become a situation to watch in Los Angeles, according to Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic.

There appears to be two second-year players at the forefront of the race: last year’s sixth-round pick Quentin Lake and seventh-round pick Russ Yeast. Lake got a late start to his rookie year after starting the season on the reserve/physically unable to perform list. Once activated, he played almost exclusively on special teams until the team’s season finale in Seattle. Yeast also started off mainly on special teams before earning a good number of defensive snaps late in the year. He made his first career start in that same Seattle game.

Lake and Yeast will both get significant run with the first team in an effort to determine a starter. A dark horse in the competition could be rookie seventh-round pick Jason Taylor II. The Oklahoma State product had an impressive 99 tackles last season to go along with six interceptions for the Cowboys. While each player should get a strong chance, it’s believed that Yeast has the early edge.

Here are a couple other rumors coming out of LA:

• An expected camp kicking battle was cut short when Christopher Dunn was waived a couple weeks ago. The Rams currently only roster undrafted rookie Tanner Brown at the position. Also coming out of Stillwater, Brown never missed a single extra point during his collegiate career. In his senior year, Brown converted an impressive 22 of 23 field goal attempts. Despite the lofty college numbers, entering the season with Brown as the only option is a risky move. Rodrigue doesn’t rule out the possibility of Los Angeles bringing in some camp competition for the young specialist.
• The Rams’ top draft selection this year, second-round guard Steve Avila, is reportedly “as pro-ready a rookie as (Rodrigue has) seen walk into the (Rams’) building.” If the TCU-product secures a starting guard spot, as expected, the other guard spot could be won in competition between Tremayne Anchrum and Logan Bruss. Both Anchrum and Bruss were limited last season due to injury and are reportedly itching to prove their worth in 2023. Bruss has even gotten snaps at his old college position of right tackle, making him a strong candidate for a Swiss Army role on the offensive line if he can’t win a starting job. Rodrigue warns not to forget about rookie fifth-round pick Warren McClendon out of Georgia, as well. Although a knee injury forced him to miss time this spring, McClendon’s expected to make some noise in camp this summer.