Carolina Panthers: 3 Rams Players to Watch Against the Panthers

Here are some additional Rams the Carolina Panthers should watch for.

The time has come, folks. The smell of pumpkin spice is in the air, the morning temperature is beginning to drop, and regular season football is showing on Sundays. If you’re reading this then chances are you already have an idea of what teams you’ll be paying attention to this Sunday. We already know the Panthers are going to bring the heat, as promised by Curtis Samuel. The Cat Pack will show up, but what should we expect from the erstwhile NFC Super Bowl representatives? The indefatigable number ninety-nine will be there, but there are some other numbers you ought to keep an eye out for.

#24, Taylor Rapp

The Rams’ 2019 second-round pick spent the summer earning his spot as the backup strong safety behind John Johnson III. Rapp is a rookie from Washington who impressed in college with his tackling ability and shiftiness.
The Rams are high on Rapp’s versatility, so you should expect him to line up at the line of scrimmage and in coverage. The Panthers May be able to exploit the twenty-one-year old’s questionable ball skills which have seemingly improved.
Strong safety was a concern for the Panthers this offseason. Rapp may have landed here if the second-round pick wouldn’t have gone to Greg Little. Was it worth it? You decide.

#50, Samson Ebukam

A weakside linebacker who may be best known for his stellar performance against the Chiefs on Monday night football last year. This earned him a prestigious “NFL Player of the Week” award. He was also credited with three sacks in his second year, which isn’t too bad considering he had to compete with Ndamukong Suh and Aaron Donald among others for sacks last year. He was bumped down from starter to backup for Dante Fowler Jr. this year. This might be a McVay move to keep Ebukam fresh so he can make more splash plays. It’ll be up to tackles Daryl Williams and Taylor Moton to make sure Ebukam and company don’t do that this week.

#19, Jojo Natson

Last but certainly not least we have a wide receiver who is unofficially designated as the backup to Cooper Kupp. However, what makes Natsun’s case interesting is his unofficial designation as kick and punt returner. The Rams originally signed Natson last year with confidence he could be the return man after Pharoh Cooper was moved to IR. Natson provided the spark that the Rams needed on special teams in Cooper’s absence.
This Sunday the Rams will be looking to utilize Natson’s return ability again to win the special teams battle. The Panthers will need guys like team captain Collin Jones and newcomer Jordan Kunaszyk to put a stop to that.