The penultimate practice of Rams training camp concluded on Saturday afternoon, wrapping up their second session against the Los Angeles Chargers. There were no skirmishes or fights, keeping practice clean once again.
Here are three takeaways from everything that happened on Saturday at UC Irvine.
Bryce Hager is making a statement at MLB
All offseason, it’s seemed like Micah Kiser would replace Mark Barron at inside linebacker next to Cory Littleton. Not so fast. Hager might have something to say about that. For the second day in a row, Hager has taken first-team reps at linebacker in the Rams’ base defense. That’s a strong indication that he might be pulling ahead of Kiser as the starter.
The position battle hasn’t been determined yet, as it sounds like they’re just alternating days, but Hager is definitely a candidate to start in Week 1. He has more experience than Kiser and is a consistent special teams contributor, so the Rams might prefer him as the safer option.
This is definitely a competition worth keeping an eye on throughout the preseason.
JoJo Natson stood out vs. Chargers
Natson could be considered on the roster bubble because most of his contributions come on special teams, but it sounds like he’s on his way to earning a spot on the 53-man roster. According to Greg Beacham of the Associated Press, Natson was almost untouchable in practice on Saturday, which is a good sign for his chances of making the team.
He dealt with fumbling issues on punt returns last season and didn’t do much as a receiver, but this sort of elusiveness could be an asset on offense in certain situations. Natson could very well remain the primary punt returner if he continues to show this level of shiftiness.
Offense struggled as a whole
Jared Goff made a few nice throws to Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp but altogether, the offense was not up to par. Goff was intercepted and had a great throw called back due to holding.
Understandably, McVay was unhappy with the way the offense performed against the Chargers, who boast a championship-caliber defense.
It’s not the end of the world, but it’s also not very encouraging when the offense struggles against another team’s defense – especially after the way the Rams’ 2018 season ended.
