LOS ANGELES—The Los Angeles Rams added another player that will add depth to its already stout defensive line. On Tuesday, May 17, former Patriots 2014 first-round pick Dominique Easley signed a one-year deal with the Rams.
The 29th overall pick in the 2014 draft has a ton of talent, but has had difficulty staying healthy in his college career at Florida and his pro days in New England. He tore his left ACL in 2011 as a true sophomore for the Gators, and then followed that up by tearing his right early in the 2013 season. In the midst of his injuries at the college level, Easley was still able to produce 18 tackles for a loss and 5.5 sacks during his tenure.
Clearly, the Patriots front office felt that his potential outweighed his inability to stay healthy as they used their day one draft pick on him.
In his young pro career, Easley has played in 22 games and started three of those games. He has recorded three sacks in his first two seasons, but both of the defensive tackle’s 2014 and 2015 campaigns were cut short due to injury.
The Patriots placed him on IR in December of his rookie year due to a knee injury. He then missed a few games due to a hip pointer last season, before being placed on the IR once again in December with a torn quad.
If Easley can stay healthy he would complement the pieces already in place on the defensive line very well, and could be an effective pass rusher. Easley joins a group that will feature five former first-round picks for the second year in a row including Aaron Donald, Robert Quinn, Michael Brockers and Quinton Coples.
