How a Former Falcon Is the Key to the Rams Success
Throughout the 2025 NFL season, the Falcons and the Rams have been intrinsically linked. This is because of the draft day trade from the 2025 NFL Draft that allowed the Falcons to move up into the first round, at the cost of letting the Rams have their 2026 first-round pick. This allowed them to draft two cornerstone pieces of their new look defense in Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr., who was the one picked with the Rams’ traded pick. As the Falcons moved their defense in a brand new direction, they also let one of their linebackers sign with Los Angeles. This was the 26-year-old Nathan Landman, who has ironically emerged as one of the Rams’ new cornerstone pieces to their dominant defense.
Nathan or Nate Landman is one of the three captains of the Rams' defense, the other two being Kobie Turner and Quentin Lake. Landman has also been the man wearing the Rams’ green dot all season. Outside of his play on the field, he has been a crucial leader and veteran to a young defensive unit that is continuing to build its identity. In terms of his play on the field, Landman has been more than just solid; he’s been a true game-changer. He is ranked fifth in the league in total tackles and is fourth among linebackers in total solo tackles. In the Week One game against Houston, he forced a fumble that effectively sealed the game in Los Angeles’ favor. In Week Seven against the Jaguars in London, Landman got his first sack of the year on a Trevor Lawrence attempted scramble. He has a consistent presence on the inside that was desperately needed after the departure of Christian Rozeboom in the offseason, and really, since the trading of Ernest Jones to the Titans in 2024.
Most importantly, Landman has come cheaply. Les Snead and the Rams have shown a consistent pattern of devaluing the linebacker position in terms of being a place for financial investment. Jones was a staple of the Rams’ Super Bowl team, but became too expensive, and money was the main reason behind Los Angeles’ decision to trade him. This year, they rank dead last in linebacker spending, with a mere $3.975 million spent in the position. By comparison, the second lowest is the Panthers at $5.750 million, and the highest spending team is the Commanders with a whopping $33.506 million. Landman is only on contract for just over one million dollars per year, and has significantly outperformed his price tag. This discount has allowed the Rams to heavily invest in other position groups, such as the offense or the pass rush, without losing a step in production from their linebackers. This alone makes Landman one of the most important parts of the Rams’ defense, providing exuberant value without forcing the Rams to pivot from their roster construction strategy.
Nate Landman’s contributions go beyond just stats or the salary sheet. He is also best described as the glue that pieces together the Rams’ defense into a cohesive unit. The most important cog of Los Angeles’ defense is the pass rush, which has single-handedly won them games. The group is young and deep, and they have allowed numerous players to shine. Byron Young is tied for the highest sack count in the league, Kobie Turner is ninth in DT pass rush wins, andJared Verse is ranked highly in a number of categories, most notably being second in total pressures among edge rushers. None of these players’ contributions would matter if the back end of the defense didn’t hold up. In the secondary, Quentin Lake's dynamic and flexible ability to play the star position for Los Angeles has been the second most important cog to the Rams’ defense. His ability to play both corner and safety allows the Rams to place the players of a relatively weaker secondary group in the best possible place to succeed. Nate Landman, placed in the middle, is the connecting piece between these two cogs. He fills the holes left behind by the other groups, plugging up the gaps that remain as the opposing offense’s last hopes for finding effective offense against this Rams group. Los Angeles’ defense is second in total EPA at -44.84 and is tied for second in EPA per play at -0.10. They also have the lowest opponent touchdowns scored, with 1.4 opponent touchdowns per game and a total of 10 touchdowns. These stats show a defense that has the makeup of being a Super Bowl-winning defense, and Landman’s contributions on such a low salary are one of the most important reasons why.
