St. Louis Rams Closing Evaluations: What Grades Do the Defensive Linemen Receive?

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Kendall Langford: It feels wrong to say that Langford, perhaps the Rams’ most productive defensive tackle in 2013, was bad during the 2014 season, but he just didn’t do much. Through no real fault of his own, his playing time was significantly lessened, as the Rams hit the jackpot and got Aaron Donald, the best defensive tackle in the draft, with the 13th overall pick.

Due to Donald’s emergence as arguably the best defensive tackle in the NFL, Langford was in on just 494 snaps from scrimmage this year, the lowest total of his seven-year career. After leading Rams DTs in tackles during 2013, he had just 25 tackles this season, which was the second-lowest total of his career, exceeding only his 20 in 2011. He had one sack, also his lowest total since 2011.

On a positive note, Langford was productive in terms of his peripheral pass-rushing statistics. He had 10 quarterback hurries and four quarterback hits, which exceeded the five and three, respectively, of Michael Brockers, who played nearly 150 more snaps.

Though Langford was decent over his limited snaps in 2014, he’ll probably end up paying the price for his demotion. With him having been reduced to a backup role, it’s difficult to see the Rams paying Langford his $6 million-dollar salary for the final year of his contract in 2015.

GRADE: B-

Next: Michael Brockers