The start of training camp is right around the corner for the Los Angeles Rams, with only 22 days until players report to Loyola Marymount. Next on our countdown to camp is the Rams’ 22nd-most important player for 2025, and he happens to be entering his first year with the team.

Poona Ford is a shorter nose tackle who has long arms and a knack for making plays, which is why the Rams gave him a three-year deal in free agency this offseason. He effectively replaces Bobby Brown III in the middle of the defensive line, hopefully continuing to play at the high level he showed last season with the Chargers.

How he got here

Ford has been in the league since 2018 when he went undrafted out of Texas. He signed with the Seahawks as a rookie and made the 53-man roster, spending the first five years of his career in Seattle. He then left in 2023 to sign with the Bills and signed another one-year deal with the Chargers in 2024 before inking a three-year, $27.6 million contract with the Rams this offseason.

2024 stats

17 games (17 starts): 39 tackles, 3 sacks, 8 TFL, 9 QB hits, 1 INT, 5 passes defensed

Projected role

Ford is penciled in as the Rams’ starting nose tackle, a role Brown previously held in Los Angeles. He’ll line up alongside Kobie Turner and Braden Fiske, plugging up the middle of the line with his 5-foot-11, 310-pound frame.

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Though he is on the shorter side for a player at his position, he has long arms and is powerful for his size. He’s also impressively quick, allowing him to get off blocks and get in front of ball carriers before they can find the hole. He won’t be an every-down player but he’ll be on the field a lot for Los Angeles, especially on early downs when teams are trying to run the ball.

Why he’s important

Though Brown was a good run defender, he didn’t provide much as a pass rusher. In fact, he had just three pressures in 2024, which was the fewest among all NFL defensive tackles with at least 140 pass-rush snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. Ford, on the other hand, had 25 pressures last season.

The Rams saw an opportunity to upgrade their interior pass rush and signed Ford, who should have an immediate impact inside. He’s on par with Brown as a run defender but he offers much more upside as a pass rusher.

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If the Rams were generating the pressure at the rate that they were last season, there’s reason to believe they’ll be even better in that department this year with Ford. They don’t have a player of his caliber on the bench so hopefully he can stay healthy all year and capitalize on the one-on-one reps he’s bound to get.

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This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Rams’ most important players for 2025: No. 22 NT Poona Ford