Omar Speights has given the Rams something they badly needed: disruption from an unexpected source.
That was not the expectation when the 2026 season opened. Plenty of Rams fans had doubts about the linebacker, and those doubts were loud. Speights has answered by playing with energy and purpose, helping cover a playmaking gap in the middle of Los Angeles’ defense.
The Rams’ defense as a whole has been uneven, but the bigger issue is that the usual sources of havoc have not shown up often enough. Byron Young has surged lately and leads the team with 3.5 sacks. After that, the pressure numbers thin out fast: Speights has two sacks, rookie Wes Bailey has one, and Kamren Kinchens has a half.
Speights has also turned in one of the defense’s few real takeaway moments. He is one of three Rams with a forced fumble, and it came on a peanut punch.
Add in a tackle for loss and a pass defensed, and he’s already hit career highs in three categories. In 26 career starts before this season, he had never recorded a sack or quarterback hit, had not forced a fumble, and had only two tackles for loss.
What hasn’t changed is the coverage profile. Rams fans know the issues there, and they’re still present.
Pro Football Focus has Speights at a 43.6 coverage grade this season, which ranks 65th among 74 qualified linebackers. But against the run, he’s been excellent.
His 85.9 run-defense grade is second among linebackers.
That part of his game wasn’t the surprise. The surprise is the extra disruption.
Los Angeles has needed it. With Myles Garrett injured, Aaron Donald dealing with back soreness, and the pass rush not consistently finishing plays, the defense has been looking for someone to create chaos.
Turnovers have been scarce, too. The Rams rank 24th with three on the season and are tied for 27th with a minus-five turnover differential, with only the Colts worse.
The sack production has been limited as well. The Rams’ seven sacks are tied for 22nd, and four of them came last week against the Eagles, including one from Speights on a blitz.
He’s been especially noticeable on special teams, too. When Speights delivers a hit, the returner feels it.
For now, he’s given the Rams a jolt. The question is how long it lasts, and whether anyone else on the defense will join him.
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From Los Angeles side, though, Smith also carried the kind of volatility that can change a game in one snap. The Rams saw the upside in his return ability, but they also lived through the inconsistency that made him a frustrating fit at times, including the kind of mistake that tends to stick with a player long after the rest of the tape is forgotten. [Read more 🡒]