The Los Angeles Rams have started their 2025 campaign with a 5-2 record and are tied for the top spot in the NFC West through eight weeks, and part of the reason for that success has been the play of Chris Shula’s defense.
Through seven games, Los Angeles has allowed just the third-fewest points per game (16.7), giving their offense plenty of wiggle room to overcome slow starts or mistakes.
Linebacker Nate Landman has been one of the Rams best defensive players this year, as he’s recorded 67 tackles, four passes defensed, three quarterback hits, two fumbles recovered, 1.5 sacks and one forced fumble. Not only is Landman impressing fans, but he’s impressing teammates as well.
Earlier this week, Rams linebacker Jared Verse spoke about Landman’s leadership, energy and play on the field.
“He has a certain energy that you can’t even describe,” Verse said. “I have a chaotic energy where I just scream and yell and stuff. Nate comes out there and he’s like a field general. He lets you know what’s going to happen and if you don’t know your play, he’s going to make sure you understand what you have to do and why you have to do it. He’s doing this, he’s doing that. He likes to manipulate things.
“Then you just talk about the actual field of play where he’s getting after it. He’ll be on the left side of the field, the ball goes wide right and if I tackle the ball carrier, I look up and Nate’s going to be right there making the tackle with me. He’s all over the field. He’s somebody that I’m shocked that he’s outside where he was.”
Verse even indicated that he gets some of his energy from Landman.
“Oh yeah, definitely,” Verse said. “You can see a couple plays that we made this year where he gets up and I slap him and start yelling in his face. We feed off each other.”
Coming to the Rams after three years with the Falcons where he played more than 65% of the team’s defensive snaps just once, Verse admitted that Landman enter Los Angeles’ locker room with all of the energy he plays with now.
“No, he didn’t come in day one like that,” Verse said. “Day one he was more focused on learning the playbook and everything like that. Nate’s probably one of the smartest people I’ve ever met. By day two or three he understood everything and then he is who you see now.”
Landman’s one-year, $1.1 million contract looks like the deal of the century at this point in the season, and if he continues playing like this, he’ll set himself up for a huge payday this offseason. The Rams might want to lock him down soon before he hits the open market.
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