There's truth in that. Like you I am tired of watching poor ILB play, even though I understand it has not been a priority in the way the Rams valued things on defense.
But in previous years we got away with weak ILB due to strong DL, and having AD in there wrecking shit. AD being gone, there's a chance the Rams build that front a little better across the board. Also Shula seems to value the ILBs. I'm not counting snaps and shit in saying that, I just find it interesting that in his first year as DC we unearth a UDFA ILB who can play.
Also one problem has been that the Rams haven't managed to hit on the position in the draft. They haven't prioritized it outside of taking Jones. But Jones was a disappointment in his lack of range, that bum knee wasn't getting any better, and he seemed to be a bit too high on his own ability as demonstrated by his contract year travels. Truth is I would take Speights over him right now, no hesitation, because he's cheaper with team control and younger and healthier. I don't see a ton of dropoff from Jones to him and that's the heart of it for me.
I'm wondering what Speights looks like back there once he gets fully vested in the system and has no downs/distances where he's thinking. How good he may get is going to come down to the quickness of his processing.
One thing that is interesting is Speights is not a bad athlete for ILB. He for example is close to Fred Warner athletically in his forty time. Warner ran a 4.64 forty. Speights ran a 4.62 forty. Now Warner's the better athlete for sure, as he was carrying more weight and he outperformed him in the three cone and vert. But Speights weight isn't too big a concern for me as he has stopping power when he hits. The dude hits backs like a guy weighing 250. They stop.
So he's a really nice find for the Rams. I don't think he's going to be an elite backer or anything. But like you I am enjoying watching him develop. It's great to see him and Rozeboom playing like they have been. And maybe we see the Rams invest in a SS conversion to pair with him in this next draft, one of those oversized types with some range in the box.
