Michael Hoecht’s versatility gives Rams the pass rush they need

THOUSAND OAKS — Last month, Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris surprisingly mentioned Michael Hoecht as a potential replacement for outside linebacker Justin Hollins, who was waived after struggling to make an impact as a starter.

Hoecht was a special-teams contributor and a backup for Aaron Donald as an interior defensive lineman. But Morris was a fan of Hoecht’s athleticism and size and noticed the intensity he provided during practice and on special teams.

Also, Morris neglected to mention at the time that outside linebacker Terrell Lewis was dealing with a back injury, leaving the Rams thin at the position. So what started as an experiment during an emergency situation might have led the Rams to find a hidden gem in Hoecht, who’s expected to start opposite of Leonard Floyd for the rest of the season.

“He’s the type of guy that you like to be around,” Morris said Friday about Hoecht. “A guy that you want to work with and keep going forward.

The Rams started the season with hopes of replicating Von Miller’s production with a two-man rotation of Lewis and Hollins. Now neither player is on the team after the Rams waived Lewis on Thursday.

Morris said the emergence of Hoecht played a role in why the team decided to part ways with Lewis, the Rams’ 2020 third-round pick out of Alabama. The Rams also want to see more of rookie outside linebackers Keir Thomas and Daniel Hardy.

Lewis was limited to 14 defensive snaps against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 12 because of the back injury and was ruled out against the Seattle Seahawks and Las Vegas Raiders the past two weeks. Lewis returned to practice Thursday, but the Rams weren’t planning on having him be active Monday against the Green Bay Packers, according to Morris.

“What (Rams coach) Sean (McVay) says, he really means,” Morris said. “He’s people first, so in order to give Terrell the best chance to get back on the grass, we decided to part ways and let him move on and have an opportunity somewhere else, where it’s probably going to be more fruitful for him.

“These young guys are coming and playing and have done some really good things the last couple weeks. In order not to have a disgruntled worker … Sean really means what he says, and people first.”

Morris was asked if the team miscalculated attempting to have Lewis and Hollins replace Miller, the star pass rusher who helped the Rams win a Super Bowl last season before joining the Buffalo Bills in free agency. Morris mentioned that losing – the Rams are 4-9 – and trailing in games often this season didn’t allow Hollins and Lewis enough opportunities to rush the passer. The Rams will face Hollins and his new team, the Packers, on Monday night

“I think we knew it was going to be difficult to replace Von,” Morris said. “Hence, our intent in our desire to sign Von and our willingness to go another level to sign Von, and we got outbid and it is what is. I wouldn’t say or blame anybody. … It’s a hard shoe to fill. Von Miller is special.”

The Rams aren’t asking Hoecht to replace Miller, but they might ask him to change his body frame for next season to become a full-time outside linebacker. The 6-foot-4, 310-pound Hoecht delivered a breakout performance in Week 13 against the Seahawks after recording two sacks, three quarterback hits and forcing a fumble that was recovered by the Rams.

“Probably two weeks ago,” McVay said after being asked when he noticed Hoecht could make an impact as an outside linebacker. “Otherwise we would have done this (expletive) a lot sooner.”

Hoecht, a 2020 undrafted free agent who played for Brown in the Ivy League, had only 15 defensive snaps in the first 10 games of the season. He’s played at least 50 defensive snaps in each of the past three games.

Hoecht didn’t record a hit against Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes in his first game at outside linebacker, but he won his matchups often in Kansas City and put plenty of pressure on Mahomes during his 64 defensive snaps. Hoecht quickly put it all together for his second game on the edge, and the Rams desperately needed his impact plays in 56 defensive snaps because they were without Donald, Lewis and defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson against the Seahawks.

“I think it’s just getting more comfortable at the position,” Hoecht said. “It’s something that (outside linebackers coach) Thad (Bogardus) and I have been working toward. And, you know, it started out as an in-case-of-emergency if somebody goes down. As you guys all know, the way the season has gone, we’ve had a lot of guys go down. So, thankful for the opportunity that my number got called, and I was able to do something with it.”

Hoecht had a rough start setting the edge against the Raiders, but he made adjustments and delivered a critical hit on Raiders quarterback Derek Carr, which forced him into throwing an interception to Rams safety Taylor Rapp to seal the victory last week. Hoecht also prevented Raiders running back Josh Jacobs from recording a first down to give the Rams the ball back and march for a 98-yard game-winning drive.

“I think you have to go through those struggles to be a great player,” Rams middle linebacker Bobby Wagner said about Hoecht’s early struggles against the Raiders. “When you go through those struggles, you learn from them and you make the corrections and then you start playing them better. Sometimes there’s things you just haven’t seen and so you’re playing things that you haven’t seen consistently. I think that’s when you realize you’re a great player.

“It’s not the mistakes, it’s ‘do you learn from those mistakes?’ And ‘can you correct those mistakes?’ Because the great players, they don’t let things beat them more than once.”

Hoecht said he had no experience as a standing edge rusher, but mentioned that he played a little bit of defensive end with his hand on the ground during his four seasons at Brown.

The Canadian-born defender who grew up in Ohio is accustomed to playing different roles for the Rams. Hoecht returned a kick in Week 6 against the Carolina Panthers and that led to him receiving one offensive snap as a tight end in Week 8 against the San Francisco 49ers.

“I’m a football player,” Hoecht said. “I think they saw the ball in my hand when I returned the kick against Carolina, I think they wanted to give it a shot and it was pretty fun. That was the first offensive snap I’ve taken since high school.”

Hoecht said he learned the importance of being versatile by practicing with Donald. He also studied Miller’s pass-rushing moves when he played with the Rams last season.

The Rams gave it a shot with Hoecht as an outside linebacker and it now might become a permanent change.

“His ability to just be active is exciting,” Morris said.

NO UPDATE FROM COEN

Rams offensive coordinator Liam Coen didn’t say whether he had accepted a job to return to Kentucky as the offensive play caller.

“No update right now,” Coen said Friday. “The biggest thing is focusing on the season. That’s a conversation that I’ll end up having with those guys at the end of the season and the biggest thing is just trying to do right by this place and finish the season off in the right way.”

Reports emerged last week of Coen accepting the offensive coordinator job with Kentucky, where Coen coached in 2021 in the same role before returning to the Rams this year.