The Los Angeles Rams made the somewhat unsurprising decision to release veteran linebacker Mark Barron this offseason. It was purely a financial move, as the Rams were open to bringing him back at a lower price, but the Steelers inked him to a two-year deal.
They signed Clay Matthews and have Micah Kiser on the roster already, but they hardly addressed the void Barron left with full force. Instead, it’ll be a cast of players trying to replace him at inside linebacker.
Dakota Allen, the Rams’ seventh-round pick and their last selection in the draft, will be among those trying to earn the starting job. He’ll play special teams initially, but with his work ethic, he might just surprise some people and get the job next to Cory Littleton.
In a recent video shared by the Rams on Twitter, Allen told fans that they won’t find a harder worker than him.
“Rams fans, y’all will get a very hard worker,” he said. “Y’all won’t find anyone who works as hard as me. I will be a great locker room guy and I’m just going to take it day by day and be as coachable as I can and hopefully I can have a long-lasting career as an L.A. Ram.”
Allen has a checkered past after being dismissed from Texas Tech for a home burglary. He landed at East Mississippi Community College, the focus of Netflix’s hit show “Last Chance U.” Allen was a star of the show and was immediately recognized by fans when he was selected 251st overall.
He has plenty to prove with the Rams, but there’s no doubting his work ethic and leadership. After re-enrolling at Texas Tech in 2017, he was a two-time captain. He was also a standout player on defense and has better short-area quickness than most linebackers in the 2019 class.
Allen has an uphill climb to becoming a starter in Los Angeles, but he’s going to give it everything he has.
