The Rams starter under the most pressure to keep his job

Omar Speights is not the first name that fans think of when they think of Rams training camp opening this week. He’s not one of the first 10 names, or probably the first 20. But if camp is for competition, then Speights is the face of one of the most intense battles expected to happen for a starting job on L.A.‘s depth chart in the next two months.

Will Speights fend off two linebackers coming for his job?

How Speights got here

During his rookie season, Speights made his instincts and high football IQ clear after playing a handful of snaps against the Seahawks:

“They motioned a little bit before, so I just kind of knew wherever that motion ended up going, that was where the run was gonna go,” Speights said. “So I ended up just being a cut back, so I just checked my gap first and then flew over the top just looking for an open gap to hit and I found it, and (the defensive line) did a great job up front of getting penetration… so it was easy for me to just clean up.”

“Playing ball for a long time, you get a feel for certain things,” Speights said.

That “playing ball for a long time” included five seasons of college football, including four at Oregon State and one at LSU. Speights racked up 378 tackles and 25 tackles for a loss during his career, but sometimes extra experience in college can be a hindrance to a player’s draft stock, not an aid. Especially after Speights was named as a freshman All-American in 2019, an honor that could have propelled him to leave school early instead of late.

Teams expect true NFL players to enter the draft soon after they’re eligible. Not to wait it out as long as possible.

So Speights went undrafted in 2024, largely held back for physical and athletic reasons. Lance Zeirlein of NFL.com was perhaps also lower on his instincts than Rams coaches have been in the last two years:

“With average size and instincts, Speights appeared to be more comfortable in the comfort of the Oregon State defense than he was at LSU in 2023. He can be hit or miss in reading play design and finding his best positioning to make plays and he tends to sit back and wait a hair too long. He plays with active feet and good lateral slide quickness and rarely drifts into traffic unnecessarily. He sees what he hits in the box but lacks agility as an open-field tackler and can be exploited in coverage. The pre-2023 tape is better, but he might not be enough of a downhill alpha and playmaker to garner draft attention.”

But physically, Zierlein may be overselling Speights compared to most NFL linebackers.

At 6’, 229, he checks no boxes in that regard.

However, that didn’t stop Speights from signing with the Los Angeles Rams after the draft, truly the most ideal team to find himself on given the depth at the time between Christian Rozeboom and Troy Reeder.

Speights merely had to beat out Jake Hummel and Elias Neal, and he was good enough for the Rams to trade Ernest Jones to the Titans at the end of training camp too. Only six games into the season, Speights was called on to start, and he hasn’t stopped since then.

Sean McVay was impressed with his effort:

“I’ve seen a guy that’s consistently put in the work,” head coach Sean McVay said. “He’s got a routine and a rhythm that he has established where he’s doing extra work, taking care of his body, he’s got film, very conscientious, and this guy is a pro.”

But now Speights finds himself on the other side of the Troy Reeder coin.

Can Speights hold off competition?

In two seasons, Speights has amassed 152 tackles, but very little else in terms of raw defensive production. No turnovers, no pass rushing, and merely acceptable in pass coverage, although that is inconsistent.

PFF ranked him 25th among all linebackers in coverage in 2026.

Now for the second year in a row, Speights finds himself in a competition with Shaun Dolac, another undrafted free agent with a chip on his shoulder. Dolac earned himself some fans last preseason and appeared in every game last season with the Rams, but almost exclusively on special teams.

His one extensive defensive appearance came with 35 snaps against the Ravens and he had seven tackles, including one TFL.

An elite linebacker in the MAC and an All-American, Dolac also has high expectations of himself and will expect to push for Speights’ job. Dolac does not have a size advantage over Speights, but could be better in other ways, as JB Scott noted last month:

This sample size cannot be easily extrapolated, but it at least makes you wonder if the second-year linebacker could take over for Speights. Dolac is a better coverage than Speights, but the team needs strong run defense when its in base personnel. We know Speights does that job effectively. Dolac could bring a little extra to the table.

And on free agent special teamer Grant Stuard, McVay told Bussin’ with the Boys that he’ll “probably” find a way to contribute defensively this season too.

Stuard was drafted — he was the LAST pick of his draft — but through five seasons has only started five games, all with the Colts in 2024. When a guy gets an opportunity and loses it, rarely does he ever get it back. Stuard is trying to prove that’s not always the case.

And Speights is trying to prove that losing it won’t be the case for him.

As Rams open training camp this weekend, all eyes will be on the stars. Myles Garrett, Trent McDuffie, Puka Nacua, and Matthew Stafford. But the real action is on the fringes.

That’s where you’ll find Speights, Stuard, and Dolac battling for an important job. That’s where you’ll find the competition to compete.