The Jacksonville Jaguars drafted OLB Dante Fowler, Jr., with the 3rd overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft.
His time with the Jaguars was a disappointment. Fowler has the talent to succeed, but hasn’t been able to provide the stats to seal the deal.
Once Fowler was traded to the Rams, he was able to reignite his potential as a star in this league. Even though he wasn’t getting splash plays, Fowler was still disruptive on the edge making quarterbacks uncomfortable. But with only two sacks for the Los Angeles Rams in his eight games last year and four overall, Fowler is a classic example of a player that’s much better than his numbers would suggest.
This past offseason, Fowler was signed to a one-year, $12m deal after stepping in at OLB and at least making fans believe that he could be the answer at the edge position.
Compared to players in his price range, Fowler hasn’t stood out averaging just 0.34 sacks per game and 0.38 tackles for loss per game since 2016. So, while he’s been a top OLB for the Rams, his competition on the roster has been a bit pedestrian compared to other NFL teams.
Will Fowler be able to prove that he deserves a big contract from the Rams or someone else?
Roster Battle
With contemporaries like OLB Samson Ebukam and the aging LB Clay Matthews, Fowler is the top dog at the edge. He just needs to put it all together. When a player is on the verge of being a superstar like Fowler is, their battle isn’t with any other player on the 53-man roster.
It’s with themselves.
Expectations
Sacks. More sacks.
Fowler has to turn the corner on the edge to get to the quarterback. If he’s not producing as the primary pass rusher from the edge, the Rams are going to see DL Aaron Donald increasingly isolated. Fowler simply has to do more than what he did in the regular season. He improved in the playoffs, but the front seven as a whole did. With DL Ndamukong Suh gone, Fowler has to lead the charger to bring that improved postseason pass rush into this regular season.
Chances of the making the final roster (9/10)
If he’s healthy through training camp, the guy is going to be on the 53-man roster.
Here’s some audio when he was mic’d up for the Chicago Bears game. The guy can be electric, let’s just see if he can turn it on for a bright future with the Rams.
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