IRVINE, Calif. — Weird: Walking out onto a practice field and realizing just how vast the gap is between the Rams’ few players with significant NFL experience … and everyone else.
I mean, you’ve got future Hall of Fame defensive tackle Aaron Donald strolling out to the meticulously arranged “Dawg Pound” to the side of the main fields (where defensive line coach Eric Henderson holds the “Dawg Work” sessions that begin every practice), and lining up behind him for drills are Marquise Copeland, Jonah Williams and a bunch of rookies or guys who simply haven’t seen much playing time.
If you happened to walk out onto the emerald-green practice fields almost an hour before practice starts, you’ll see even more of that gap — this time due to youth: The Rams’ all-rookie special teams unit, featuring long snapper Alex Ward, punter Ethan Evans and kicker Tanner Brown, getting put through the wringer by new coordinator Chase Blackburn from a wide variety of hashmarks and distances.
Also weird, but in a positive way for the Rams: Matthew Stafford is throwing what appears to be a full workload, which he was unable to do ahead of the 2021 or 2022 seasons because of various injuries. “I feel a lot better physically,” he said, “I feel really healthy compared to where I was at this point last year, so that’s fun for me.”
Oh, there was one other weird thing … the Rams have new tackling dummies this year (maybe Donald broke their old ones?) and they have … faces.
Asked about the prospect of facing Aaron Donald over the next two weeks, buddy declined to comment. pic.twitter.com/7HdRRTQpv3
— Jourdan Rodrigue (@JourdanRodrigue) July 26, 2023
As one commenter aptly put it in my story from training camp report day, get ready to embrace all of the “weird” as the Rams enter their 2023 season.
Here are a few observations from the first day of training camp — and I’m sure I don’t have to reiterate this, but the big caveat is that it’s the first day, with a long, long way to go and a lot more to see:
(Note: Per the Rams’ credential policy, media with access to practice cannot report formations, personnel groups, deployment of personnel, starting lineups unless confirmed directly by a coach or player, unconventional plays, the number of reps players take at certain positions, etc.)
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• Receivers Van Jefferson, Ben Skowronek and Cooper Kupp were either limited or non-participants in spring practices, but all of them were full participants in Wednesday’s practice. Kupp and Jefferson worked with athletic trainers on a specific warm-up before the day fully started.
• Veteran right tackle Rob Havenstein has stressed that along the offensive line there is competition for every spot. But two specific position battles that have already clearly heated up are at left tackle, where Joe Noteboom and Alaric Jackson will rotate to determine the starter there, and center, where Coleman Shelton and Brian Allen have rotated since the spring.
Jackson mostly took starting reps at left tackle in the spring, other than the last week of OTAs (he was excused for personal reasons), while Noteboom was a limited participant as he continued to heal from an Achilles tear suffered last season.
• With Hunter Long on PUP (groin), more spotlight will be on Brycen Hopkins as he tries to take command of the TE2 spot. One name I keep hearing positive mutterings about is rookie fifth-round pick Davis Allen … his progress will be closely monitored by coaches while Long is not able to participate. Ideally, the Rams would be able to get Long, a player packaged into the spring trade that sent star cornerback Jalen Ramsey to the Dolphins, back on the field quickly but soft-tissue injuries can be fickle.
Speaking of this position, TE1 Tyler Higbee had one of the better catches of the day on a mid-range front-corner end zone pass from Stafford during 11-on-11 drills.
• If the reserve quarterback rotation continues the way it did Wednesday, it would imply that free-agent acquisition quarterback Brett Rypien and fourth-round rookie Stetson Bennett are competing for the QB2 role. Now, nothing is truly that binary (especially this early in training camp). Rypien knows the system from his experience in Denver and players have to get solid work in with a quarterback who speaks the language of the offense already; the Rams drafted Bennett to eventually become their backup. Rotations, as Sean McVay has reiterated, will be frequent all over the roster as camp continues — but it’s a detail to keep an eye on throughout camp. Both players will also likely get plenty of preseason minutes.
• Bennett, however, had one of the highlights of the day along with receiver Demarcus Robinson, whom the Rams signed this spring.
When working with the reserves (which can include a variety of second- and third-string players depending on the rotation) in 11-on-11 drills, the defensive line got pressure against Bennett’s protection and he went out-of-structure to buy time, gesturing as he did so to Robinson to keep extending his route downfield. Bennett unfurled a deep pass in Robinson’s direction while on the move. Robinson jumped high and made a mid-air adjustment to the ball to pluck it away from cornerback Tre Hodges-Tomlinson’s grasp (and over the top of him).
• The eye-test of size/length difference between veteran cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon and the other cornerbacks who got time with the first-team defense is significant. Witherspoon is one of the few corners on the roster (and among the potential starters) who is above six feet tall.
• It’s rare that non-Donald defensive linemen get noticed much before the pads go on, but Williams drew loud praise from teammates and coaches for penetration he got up the middle of the offensive line near the end of the practice. Defensive tackle Larrell Murchison also got what would have been a sack against Bennett if the quarterbacks were allowed to get hit.
• A few assistant coaches and teammates held their breath for a moment as Kupp, who was sidelined mid-2022 with a high ankle sprain and had surgery, hit the grass hard on a contested end zone ball. The Stafford pass to Kupp was broken up as the two defensive players battling for it — safeties Russ Yeast and Tanner Ingle — kept contesting the ball even as all players crashed to the ground.
• Three lesser-known players who could merit keeping a closer eye on as camp continues: Ingle, inside linebacker Kelechi Anyalebechi (who manned a command position with the reserve defensive groups) and safety Rashad Torrence. Torrence had a pick-six that ended the day’s practice and he and a few teammates sprinted into the opposite end zone, dropped to the grass and pretended to make snow angels.
(Photo of Tyler Higbee: Kirby Lee / USA Today)
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