Advertisement

Rams PFF grades: Best and worst performers vs. Broncos

cameron dasilva
·3 min read

The Rams didn’t win a single game in the preseason after dropping their finale to the Broncos on Saturday night, losing 17-12. But players who were squarely on the roster bubble helped themselves with strong performances, while others failed to step up when they needed to most.

Pro Football Focus graded every player who took the field for the Rams on Saturday night, giving fans an idea of who stepped up and who didn’t come through in Denver.

Here are the top five and bottom five grades on offense and defense, as well as other notables.

Offense: Top 5

Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Jackson improved as a run blocker against the Broncos, earning a run block grade of 71.5 to go along with his pass block grade of 83.7. He looked good in the preseason and could be on his way to making the 53-man roster. Brewer also played well up front against the Broncos at left guard, even if he did have a couple of missteps in pass protection. Blanton and Hopkins might be fighting for one spot at tight end, so it’s good to see both players end the preseason on a relatively high note.

Defense: Top 5

(AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Kiser only played 14 snaps but he was effective in his limited playing time. He made one tackle and also had a pass breakup when he hit the running back as the ball got there to cause the incompletion. Hughes was one of the Rams’ best players of the preseason, once again making plays against Denver in the secondary. Daka set the edge nicely as the right outside linebacker, even if he didn’t have any pressures as a pass rusher. Brown had a pair of pressures and got his hand on one pass, finishing with his best performance of the preseason.

Offense: Bottom 5

C. Morgan Engel-USA TODAY Sports

Surprisingly, Perkins and Jones were both in the bottom five on offense despite being two of the most productive players for the Rams. Jones was noticeably bad in pass protection, allowing one sack and another pressure when he was beat by blitzers up the middle. Harris didn’t catch any of his three targets and Koski hauled in just one of his four targets for 5 yards, proving ineffective as a receiver.

Defense: Bottom 5

(AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Banks had zero pressures on 15 pass-rush opportunities and didn’t record a single tackle on the 34 snaps he played. This wasn’t the way he wanted to finish the preseason, especially given the depth Los Angeles has on the defensive line. Lawler had one pressure and two total tackles, but he also missed a couple of tackles in the trenches that led to gains by Denver. Harris and Gervase both struggled in coverage with grades of 26.2 and 28.6, respectively.

Other notables

(AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Garrett was just outside the top five on defense with the sixth-best grade. He had three pressures, one batted pass and a tackle, continuing his upward trend as roster cuts approach. Hoecht made two of the best plays of the night with a tackle at the line and a strip-sack, but he was knocked for his run defense with a grade of 56.0 in that department. Atwell and Evans were solid on offense, while Burgess and Lewis made a couple of plays in their limited opportunities.

1

1