Terrell Lewis heads to Rams in Round 3

The Los Angeles Rams selected linebacker Terrell Lewis out of Alabama in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft, 84th overall.

Lewis was beset by injuries throughout his college career but had 11.5 tackles for loss and six sacks in 2019.

The Rams needed to replenish their edge presence after releasing Clay Matthews at the beginning of the offseason and losing Dante Fowler to the Atlanta Falcons in free agency.

Prospect Profile

School: Alabama
Height: 6-5
Weight: 262 lbs

Positives

• Solid frame with good length
• Incredible explosiveness off the ball
• Heavy, powerful hands when engaging in contact
• Effective long arm to get inside chest of OT
• Sets up spin move with speed upfield to the outside
• Poses a challenge laterally due to change-of-direction skills
• Some extremely strong reps stacking, shedding, locating in run game

Negatives

• Underdeveloped use of hands limits pass-rush arsenal
• Won't bend the edge at top of rush
• Still developing effective use of counter moves
• Doesn't use length consistently in run game
• Injuries (elbow in 2017, ACL in 2018) limited him to only 14 games

Bottom line

Lewis is a low-floor, high-ceiling prospect with a range of potential outcomes. He's had far less time to develop than most other top defensive prospects, thanks to injuries that kept him from playing extensively until 2019, but he showed enough in his small sample to still be considered among the valuable pass-rushers in this class. He's got explosive traits that are tough to find, giving him a path to develop into a stud. Lewis could end up one of the draft's steals.