What does McKinley bring to the Rams?
By: Jake Rajala
The Los Angeles Rams are signing Takkarist McKinley off the Tennessee Titans practice squad, as Field Yates of ESPN noted. McKinley hasn’t lived up to his first-round pedigree, but he has been an impact player in chapters of his career. The former Atlanta Falcon ousted six sacks in his rookie season & then seven sacks in his sophomore campaign.
McKinley wasn’t able to gain steam last season with the Cleveland Browns. He only registered 2.5 sacks, 8 QB hits, and three tackles for loss in 11 contests in 2021. PFF gave him a lousy 58.4 grade for his 2021 performance.
Nonetheless, he is still 26 years old and he could certainly resurrect his career in the golden situation: surrounded by Aaron Donald and Bobby Wagner. He will likely rotate as a third-down edge rusher with LA moving forward. The Rams have collected five sacks in the prior two match-ups combined.