St. Louis Rams: 5 Undrafted Rookies with Best Chances to Make the Roster
Glenn Andrews-USA TODAY Sports
1. Louis Trinca-Pasat, DT
It seems as if Trinca-Pasat, a Senior Bowl participant who many projected as a mid-round pick, may have a spot to lose on the Rams’ 53-man roster. The team has carried four defensive tackles in Jeff Fisher’s first three years as head coach, and there’s little reason to believe that they won’t do the same this year while facing the ground-and-pound offensive attacks of the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers twice each.
The Rams only have three obvious candidates to fill the defensive tackle spots in Aaron Donald, Michael Brockers, and Nick Fairley, so there will be a job for the taking. Doug Worthington, who has seen brief action for the Washington Redskins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, could take that spot, but he hasn’t really shown anything to prove that he’s an NFL-caliber talent over his first five years in the league. Ethan Westbrooks, a hybrid end/tackle, could theoretically fill the role, but he might not be big enough to hold up as a run defender on the interior.
The 6-foot-1, 290-pound Trinca-Pasat would be a solid fit as the fourth defensive tackle, since he has enough pass-rushing ability to back up Donald and Fairley, having collected 6.5 sacks during his senior year at Iowa, and he’s also sturdy enough to fill Brockers’ nose tackle role in a pinch if needed. With Donald, Brockers, and Fairley all considered starting-caliber players, it could be possible for the Rams to survive with just three defensive tackles this year, but if they keep four again, Trinca-Pasat is probably the favorite for the final spot.