How do the Los Angeles Rams use the NFL Scouting Combine to evaluate linebackers?
The 2025 NFL Scouting Combine has officially arrived. The entire NFL world descends on Indianapolis to meet with draft prospects for interviews, medical checks, and athletic testing. However, the Los Angeles Rams don't send a particularly heavy presence to the Combine. Neither GM Les Snead nor head coach Sean McVay will be in attendance this […]
The 2025 NFL Scouting Combine has officially arrived. The entire NFL world descends on Indianapolis to meet with draft prospects for interviews, medical checks, and athletic testing.
However, the Los Angeles Rams don't send a particularly heavy presence to the Combine. Neither GM Les Snead nor head coach Sean McVay will be in attendance this year, once again.
Many teams use the Combine to test measurables for each prospect that lines up with how they view the position. For many teams, a certain arm length or a certain threshold on the broad jump will determine if they take a player or not.
How do the Rams use the Combine to evaluate each position?
There is a case to be made that the linebacker room for the Los Angeles Rams is one of the worst overall units in the NFL. It's a clear area of weakness for the team, and teams ruthlessly picked on it through the air and on the ground throughout the 2024 season.
This should be a unit where the Rams invest multiple assets into in the offseason, attacking it in both free agency and the NFL Draft. However, as you will see below…they don't really seem to care.
| Name | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | Vertical Jump | Broad Jump | 3-Cone | Short Shuttle |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alec Ogletree | 4.70s | 1.65s | 33.5″ | 122″ | 7.16s | 4.39s |
Micah Kiser | 4.66s | 1.62s | 35.5″ | 121″ | 7.05s | 4.24s |
Ernest Jones | 4.72s | 1.63s | 38.5″ | 126″ | 7.49s | 4.38s |
Yes, the Rams have drafted just three linebackers in the first five rounds since Les Snead took over in 2012, and just two since 2013. Only one earned a second contract in Alec Ogletree, but he didn't play in LA for his full extension.
If there is one area the Rams love out of their linebackers, it is explosiveness. Their lowest broad jump was 121", clearing 87th percentile. Additionally, their lowest vertical jumper came in at 33.5", which is still above average at 56th percentile.
Seemingly, they don't seem to have a preference on the 40-yard dash times, but it is important to note that they prefer a high 10-yard split.
Agility times are clearly irrelevant to the Rams when it comes to linebackers.
So, when it comes time to look at linebackers at the 2025 NFL Combine, keep an eye on how well they test in the vertical and broad jumps, as well as the elite testers in the 10-yard split.
