Rams Sign Tre'Davious White, Rams Massive Roster Upgrade Breakdown, Better Even Without AD?

are the Rams a better team this year than they were last year even with Aaron Donald retiring and the Rams officially signs for davius white that's coming up next now locked on Rams you are locked on Rams your daily Los Angeles Rams podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day [Music] what is up Ramy and welcome to another episode of lock on Rams your daily podcast covering your Los Angeles Rams free and available revor podcast locked on Rams part of locked on podcast Network your team every day we're also available over on YouTube so if you haven't yet do us a huge favor hit that subscribe button hit that notification Bell hit that like button and let us know down below do you think the Rams are better better now this time around with their current roster than they were this time last year even without Aaron Donald in the mix my name is Doug McCain you can follow me on exit Instagram at dmac corla I've been covering LA Sports for over a decade 247 Sports SI Dodgers nation and as always I'm joined by the Rams preh hav postgame show host for the Rams flagship radio station ESPN 710 La he just finishes e season covering your Los Angeles Rams the people's champ Mr Travis Rogers you can follow him on X Travis Rogers and on today's episode are the Rams better now than they were this time last year even without Aaron Donald the Rams officially signed tavius white and will the Rams break this current draft streak that they currently lead the league in that's coming up next but first this episode of Rob of lock on Rams is brought to you by FanDuel make every moment more right now new customers get $150 in bonus bets guaranteed that's 150 bucks win or lose visit fanduel.com locked onto get started okay Travis so so Rams fan site they ran a poll Turf Show times that ask their fans are the Rams better now than they were this time last year and 68% of Rams Fans believe they're better now this year than they were last year even with Aaron Donald retiring and I know that some Rams Fans might have a problem with that statement because Aaron Donald is a legend even though he has already peaked and his best years are behind him he's still a top three defensive tackle at that position but when you look at it the additions you got guardar Jonah Jackson you have Titan cobby Parkinson he's going to improve the blocking you got quarterbacks Darius Williams travius white you got safety Cameron curl you got Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo they have solidified the secondary they rebuilt the secondary you have solidified the offensive line I am in team yes this team from a top to bottom roster standpoint where last year had a lot of replacement level players this roster is better now this year even without Aaron Don they were last year I think that the question in and of itself is a reflection on just how good Aaron Donald actually was because only the removal of a player like Aaron Donald could even make this a question that you'd have to stop and think about right that that that if the Rams had added what they added last season and think about all the players that you just mentioned that they've signed all the the rebuilt secondary the trades that they've made the free agent acquisitions that they made all of those things but what this team also has you know if we're talking about a year ago today what this team didn't have they didn't have pukan AA they didn't have Kobe Turner you didn't have Byron young you didn't have uh the the understanding the knowledge that kir Williams was a highlevel NFL running back you didn't have the these were all either question marks or hopefuls well now you've got a little bit of data to back this up and all of the things that you just talked about as far as being added on the defensive side of the ball the fact that you've added or or or discovered 10 12 really good NFL players and one left and we're asking are you better that's how good Aaron Donald was that's how dominant he was and I'm not entirely sure that I agree with what what did you say 68% of the people that went that way I I I I tend may maybe I'm a leaning a little bit that way I need to see what everybody on that other side of the ball looks like without number 99 I was talking with DeMarco far yesterday today who has you know been with the Rams forever and ever Super Bowl champ with them and we were talking on my radio show and and John Ireland the voice of the Lakers asked him you know uh how many of Kobe Turner's sacks because Kobe Turner sang the national anthem at the Laker game last night were directly attributable to the fact that Aaron Donald was getting attention and DeMarco said well how many do you have and I said well he had nine he goes then it's nine okay that that that's what Aaron Donald does that he was T that that Jason k was talking on his podcast with his brother Travis about in his career in the NFL again a Hall of Fame NFL career in Jason Kelce the only player that they ever went up against where they game planed for one person on the other side of the ball was the Rams and Aaron Donald that the entire game plan was deal with Aaron Donald this is what we're talking about yes I think that the Rams have a lot more talent in a lot more places but when you remove a 10 out of 10 and you replace it with a bunch of sixes and sevens I don't know I don't know I I I think they'll be better I feeling better about the team collectively but that's how good Aaron Donald was yeah and I think that's a great point is really more of a testament to his greatness the fact that this is even a conversation based on how this roster looked last year when they spent absolutely no money right you're basically drafting guys and it looked like you were setting up the roster for a complete rebuild people were talking about tanking this time last year but then you look at it and say oh wait a minute 68% think that you lose the best defensive tackle in NFL history a guy that still is putting up top three level production and you're better how is that even possible well look I think the fact that one Aaron Donald as good as he was and by the way just points out no one loves Aaron maybe his friends and family love more than me but even that I'd make the case like it's probably equal right no one loves Aaron donore than I do I love this guy but even then it's like you're not going to get the super duper top level Zenith Prime version of Aaron Dawn you're still going to get Elite but not the best version of Donald right so still a guy that's going to attract double and triple teams still be tops in the league and PFF grades and things like that but when you factor in the experience that now that first year of rookies got with Steve aalo with Kobe turn like you mentioned you kyen Williams coming back solidify himself as the feature running back to start there you don't have that question right I mean we're going to the year with with Cam Acres last year hoping oh cany do it when we knew that he probably couldn't right I just think when you look at the experience you look at a completely rebuilt secondary talking about guys like Daren Kendrick and Kobe Durant's kind of taking the step back and you had a Kell Witherspoon who definitely had a nice year but there's more veterans there's just more Talent top to bottom on this year's team and you haven't even addressed the defensive side of the ball as far as an edge rusher in the draft I think that to me would put this argument over the the top is if you could really get that edge rusher do you end up with aatu latu right do you get to chop Robin some of you say okay maybe that edge rusher is here and still even there unknown but I still like what they do with this roster compared to last year where they're at I I do too but there's one other thing about Aaron Donald that I think that has to be factored into this and and let's go back to the the Super Bowl let's go back to the Super Bowl that they won at Sofi Stadium against the Bengals and they you know we've all seen the the the video we've all heard the audio of sea McVey calling the shot he goes this is where Aaron Donald makes a play what happened Aaron Donald made a play and won the Super Bowl that not not not only was Daron Donald a great player down in and down out Not only was he a great player for all 10 years that he was in the league when you had to have it he was one of those guys like he he wasn't one of those guys that yeah no look look at the season no no no he's the guy that gets the hit in the seventh game of the World Series he's the guy that comes out of the bullpan and Strikes the guy out he's the guy that knocks down the open jumper with you know with with two seconds left in the game to send you on to the next round it's not just that he's good he's the best when he has to be the best that's a whole another level yeah can you get can another guy get a bunch of sacks well sure but can he do it when you absolutely have to have it that's the big question that that Donald wasn't just a great player he was a great player when he had to be great that's a whole another thing that's Tiger Woods Michael Jordan kind of nonsense and Aaron Donald was one of those guys and until I see this team play without him for a week a month a season I don't know if we're going to have a full understanding of just how much he was doing doing even when he wasn't the one doing it yeah I'm going to have to give you that one he's almost doing Patrick Momsy like things on the defensive line that are literally flipping Super Bowls I'll give you that one but I mean we're talking just I want to point this out before we hit to the next segment I mean the subtractions as far as the players you left Coleman Shelton Carson Wentz and Kell Witherspoon Jordan Fuller Jonah Williams John Johnson Troy reer Royce Freeman Bryson Hopkins taine a I mean those are I mean in all due respect those are a lot of replacement level NFL players and it just makes you have the conversation do you have a fully upgraded offensive line where you could still possibly outside chance you add left tackle 100% Next Level you have Dawson at the beginning of the season right and then you look you have a better secondary yes can you improve the Special Teams I think you will so I think from top to bottom you can but the thing that really my number one take away from this whole entire segment what really makes us hurt is damn we could have had all this Plus ad fing Super Bowl right you could had him and all this other stuff they're gonna be good they're GNA be I think they're going to be very very interesting fun to watch I think that they're going to win some games I think they can compete for a division title I think that they're G to be right in the heart of the the playoff mix but it it's really hard to wrap your head around the absence of that guy until you actually have to play without him absolutely ad if you're watching come on now now but coming up next the Rams officially signed travius white he had some interesting comments we're going to break it all down that's coming up next here on lock on Rams all right it's playoff time just about and both the NBA and the NHL right what else is going on well I don't know baseball is in full swing and FanDuel is your place to bet on every single game and oh by the way the Masters is this week too right you want to get in on the Masters all sorts of odds golf odds Masters odds on FanDuel as well and right now if you're a new customer you get $150 in bonus bets that's guaranteed that's $50 bucks win or lose you can bet on everything from slap shots to home runs to slam dunks golf the Masters right who doesn't love doing that me I love doing that all on an app that is safe secure and super easy to use so really what are you waiting for visit fanduel.com lockon that's fanduel.com lockon o c k d o n fanduel.com lockon and make your first bet an automatic win FanDuel America's number one sports book and we are off running here on lock on Rams thanks you for being lock on Rams your first listed every single weekday free and available rev your podcast locked on Rams part of locked on podcast Network your team every day also a special shout out to those everyday listeners out there we appreciate you watching listening to every single episode of lockon rams and you can join that everyday listeners Club too we're currently running a draft special right now membership is 100% free and you won't miss a thing about your Los Angeles Rams now Travis here in our second segment the Rams they announced the signing of travius white so it's officially official and we don't know the exact base structure of the contract what we do know about it though is it's the base is8 and a half million and the incentives can bring it up to 10 million it's on a one-year deal always say there's really no such thing as a bad one-year deal and and some nice things to say about uh his signing and the Rams Fans message said I'm excited to get to work get to work for you fans get out there in the community with the fans and put my best foot forward my teammates I'm so excited to be here go ramsy that was nothing Burger but but I I still look back at this signing I look at the potential I mean you're getting someone that when he's healthy he gives you Pro Bowl level production and I think that where this team is especially we talked about Aaron Donald you kind of think of this as a one-year deal can you get done with this group or do you got to want to think long term after this this is a a a great signing I love this because the the the upside is enormous and the downside is very very small the travius white is a great not a good NFL player he's a great NFL player he takes the ball away he does the one thing that that that the Rams really struggled with over the last year or so and that's just taking the ball away from the other team you know not to be too cliched about this is but you know whoever wins the turnover battle wins the game it's it's kind of true and the Rams you know were almost always starting with a zero takeaway thing and it was just a matter whether or not they were going to give it away on offense a time or two um he's that guy he just can't stay healthy so if if the Rams are betting on his health if the Rams are betting on him being able to be on the field for you know 15 16 17 games in the playoffs then this is he's gonna make plays he always has made plays in the NFL that's not the issue the issue has always been the health and if the opposite happens if it doesn't work out if he continues to struggle with his health if he's continue continually unavailable to play you're not on the hook for a long time it's not like you took a big swing so I I really like this I like guys on a on a on a pro it deal I like guys that have to try to go get what you know another contract and they got to push themselves to go make sure that that bag's waiting for them at the backside I think this is nothing but upside I'm not saying it's going to work necessarily because if he's unhealthy then none of this matters but I if it does work it's going to work in a big way I 100% agree with you when I learned of this signing I said you know what this is the move they need to make not just because you needed to upgrade the secondary but you need to bring in a guy that's a true Ball Hawk a guy that can turn the ball over last year the Rams 10 interceptions that was bottom third of the league fumbles as well I mean they weren't a team that turned you over and changed the game from that standpoint and this is someone who has 18 career interceptions in just 82 games he's forced five fumbles and recorded three sacks I mean when he's on the field he's getting after he's making things happen and he's also just a Zone quarterback he's great great instincts great ball skills a ball Hawk and that's what you want to see with this Rams yes you can bring in a guy that can cover and try to do things like that but this is someone who when he's on the field you're going to feel his impact yeah for for sure and I think that there's something else that kind of factors into this is you got a brand new DC you got a brand new guy in Chula who's stepping into this job for the first time now he's been in the NFL forever and ever he's been with the Rams for a very long time so he's certainly familiar with the players and familiar with Shawn McVey and the the culture of the Rams team that's all good news but this is a new job for him and I think the more veteran guys you have with a new coach that tends to kind of balance each other out that that if if I have a young guy give me some veteran players if I have a bunch of young players then I need a more veteran uh defensive coordinator offensive coordinator whatever it is so I think that that this kind of helps in that regard it's a guy that's been in the League guy knows how to make plays a guy that doesn't need to be coached up to such an extreme degree like maybe a younger player does exactly 100% I see people out there oh this is a guy he's only played 10 games in the last two seasons he's coming off in ailles injury it's a gamble guess what that's why he came at that price if he's fully healthy sign a big deal they're not signing him so this actually works out of their favor I'm guessing that the Rams like they do with all players they're really great at doing their due diligence especially es when it comes to the Medicals and I'm sure they looked under the hood and they saw okay we have dealt with guys coming back off a kelles injuries we've dealt with guys coming back off of serious injuries and we know what to expect I think that's the case with white they said you know what the upside is there and we see the value in it unless need and companies say you know what we need a game changer we need to absolutely get a pro bowl level quarterback and imagine basically Kell Withers SP last year but like times like 10 15 20 based on his potential well that that's it right the the perfect the the way this works out is he comes in he plays in every game he he intercepts you know he gets seven or eight picks takes one or two to the house and changes the way that the Rams play defense in their secondary and he's healthy and all of a sudden there's a line of people waiting to sign him at the end of the year and the Rams go thank you very much for your service peace right and that they they use him for what he's able to do he's able to use them for what he needs to rebuild his career to rebuild his brand to make sure that he can show the league that he can still play at a high level and everybody moves on he gets paid somewhere else and the Rams get a really good player for a year that's the perfect scenario stay healthy and ball out right I mean this is an all pro very big difference between all pro player and a pro bowl player right I mean just be honest here and I mean he can absolutely help this team in a big way but coming up next will the Rams break this streak that they currently hold right now for the NFL draft that's coming up next here on lock on Rams and welcome back to lockon Rams thank you for making lockon Rams your first listen every single weekday free and available wherever you get your podcast locked on Rams part of locked on podcast Network your team every day also are you watching Fox Sports or ESPN on your TV all day have to turn down the volume with all that shouting make the switch to lock on sports today a free 247 sports streaming channel programed for you every day to bring you the biggest Sports stories without all the screaming locked on sports today brings you can't miss analysis opinions and news streaming 247 on yoube YouTube or the free Amazon Fire TV channel app part of locked on podcast Network your team every day now Travis the Rams currently hold a record as far as the current streak for teams that have drafted their first pick in the draft on one side of the ball so the longest active streaks this is from Greg alond NFL analyst who says the longest active NFL streaks putting a team's top draft pick on the same side of the ball offense you got the Chargers Steelers and RAM and Falcons all have done it for four years and then for defense you have the Bucks Packers and Chiefs so question is do they stick to that side of the ball do you stick with offense I feel like if you can get a franchise left tackle for someone like a vable like a Joe Al U fashanu it's becoming increasingly unlikely or do you want to go get the playmaker we talked about Brock Bowers we talked about Rome Odun if those become available but when you look at this team's needs we just talked about the defense does feel like if they're going to stay where they're at you're probably going to flip the script and possibly go on the defensive side of the ball this year yeah I I I think again this is I am beating a dead horse here like you're not going to believe and the every dayers know what's coming next take the guy you think's the best player that's an offensive player take him if that's a defensive player take him don't don't get too cute with this I think that what we're looking at here because because they're kind of in no man's land right that they're they're just close enough enough to where the first round Talent is but they're not in it right but they're not far enough back to where you're really there's not a ton of advantage of moving along the way I I I think what you're gonna see them do is move out of that spot I I I really do now whe where their first pick is like you're talking about where they've taken all these offensive players over the last few years it's kind of a mixed bag right that that AA really nice pick you look at a guy like Logan bruss not so much you look at a guy like uh tutu ell not so much and this is why when you look at these guys like you look at the uh the the less need first rounders in his era it's three3 and one like you're you got three really good players in Aaron Donald Todd Gurley and and Jared gof th there there's no argument those were good picks they they worked out they helped the Rams one guy's in the Hall of Fame another guy's still a high level NFL quarterback and the other guy was an MVP candidate for a brief period of time there are three misses right there's Tavon Austin Alec ogry and Greg Robinson those were nothing burgers at best in disasters in Robinson cases uh at worst and then there's Michael Brockers who's kind of somewhere in between those two things that's 33 and one that's 500 that's picking high in the draft in the first round low in the draft in the first round so I don't know how anxious anybody is to take a swing at number 19 in a draft that's relatively low on first round Talent so I think you take the best guy off if it's an offensive guy in the street keeps going cool if all of a sudden you decide to get an edge or you decide to go you know off the board and take a corner whatever it might be I think you take the best player and I don't think you worry about trying to fill a hole I agree I think the Rams are too advanced of an organization to Pigeon ho hold themselves into saying oh we're just not going to take the best defensive player because we lost Aaron Donald and we need an edge right they want to get the player with the best upside that they think they can help this team wins and you have to overcompensate on the offensive side to supplement what the defense lacks then you go that route but I mean we haven't seen offensive player I mean we haven't seen defensive player taking since Taylor R right I mean even after that you had cam Acres didn't work out you had two two Atwell still hasn't worked out Logan bruss hasn't worked out right I mean so yeah I mean you haven't had a great track record with that first pick taken in the draft and hopefully you kind of flipped the script having said all that man this team needs an edge right man this team needs an edge and you go out there and if if I mean I've seen lotu slip in some of these mocks of course that really doesn't mean a damn thing when it comes to how these NFL organizations look at these players and if you get an edge it's just it's tough to win in the NFL without production at that position you could say yeah Byron young could take another step in the right direction still really raw Michael hit's back but you definitely need to solidify that position had you had done it in free agency then that's totally different but they didn't do it in free agency there's really not a lot of guys out there maybe they can go out there I think you could see some some draft day trades possibly but I'm in 100% agreement with you go out there and get the best player if they went out there and they did something splashy like find a way to either trade up to get a Bowers or a Dunes I'd be 100% all for that that' actually be my first choice to go up there and get a playmaker on offense and or my first choice actually be a left tackle if you could get that but right behind that would be wide receiver tight end and then you can see if you can fill that defensive position later well I I you know you you know how I feel about this I think there are four positions that you have to have right right it's it's the quarterback it's the guy who protects the quarterback left tackle it's the guy who hits the quarterback Edge right and then it's the guy that catches the ball from the quarterback those are the four spots and the one that they're missing the most right now is the guy that goes and hits the quarterback so if there's a player that fits that need and you have him rated highly on your board then that's the most obvious way to go but um you know if like you said if there's one of those skill guys if you think you can move from 19 and grab a Aroma dun or grab a Bowers or or alt or one of those guys then by all means go do it that's the move that has to be the move but hey you know what after the ad let's get weird let's get crazy let's take some bold swing some big risk that's what I want to see from this team I'm just excited to have a pick man we're actually to celebrate this year and at least have something to work with but that's do it for this episode of lock do rams my name is Doug McCain you can follow me on exit Instagram at dmac and of course you can follow the people's champ Mr Travis Rogers Travis Rogers and until next time whose house it's locked on Rams house