It’s rare for seventh-round picks to become starters in the NFL. The clearest path to the 53-man roster for players drafted that late is on special teams.
That’s how Nick Scott hopes to make the Rams this season, being a valuable special teams contributor before a safety. He was a standout on special teams at Penn State, being a two-time captain on that unit with the Nittany Lions.
Scott does have the potential to play safety down the road – Wade Phillips told him that as soon as he was drafted – but his biggest impact will be on John Fassel’s unit first. Sean McVay has been impressed with the rookie thus far and hopes he turns into the Rams’ version of Matthew Slater, a seven-time Pro Bowler on special teams for the Patriots.
“Yeah he’s doing a great job for Bones, whether it’s being a ‘PP’ (personal protector) whether it’s playing gunner – he can really line up in a bunch of different spots in all the major four-phases (of special teams),” McVay said Tuesday. “That was part of the reason why we liked him so much out of Penn State. That was in a lot of ways, Bones and (assistant special teams coach) Matt Daniels kind of identified him as a big-time contributor. Really similar when you look at the difference that a Slater made for New England and that’s kind of what you hope the role is. I think he’s done a pretty good job as a safety as well. As we continue to figure out which direction we’re going, there is going to be a lot of tough decisions that have to be made, and certainly that is going to be something that comes up.”
Scott first has to make the regular-season roster, which won’t be easy. The Rams are one of the deepest and most talented teams in the NFL and have some difficult decisions to make – specifically in the secondary.
Scott is behind the two starting safeties, as well as Taylor Rapp and Marqui Christian. Steven Parker might even have an edge on him right now, too. But if Scott can truly stand out on special teams, he should survive final cuts on Aug. 31.
