With the 49ers backed up on their own two-yard line, Rams inside linebacker Nate Landman smacked both hands on his helmet before the snap, looking around the formation to make sure his fellow defenders could see that indicator. Landman is the defensive signal caller for the defense, communicating play calls and making checks for the entire unit.
49ers tight end Jake Tonges ran a three-step in route, and quarterback Mac Jones fired the ball to him out of the break, but Landman wasn't fooled. As soon as Tonges planted his right foot, Landman broke on the route, undercutting it and diving to break up the pass from Jones. It was his third pass defended of the game, which led the team along with his 14 total tackles.
Landman has built a reputation as a high-end run stopper, but he's also made a significant impact in coverage through five games with the Rams. Rams inside linebackers coach Greg Williams has helped Landman see the game through a different lens, he said, aiding in his heightened production and instincts in coverage. Williams was a defensive back when he played, and that perspective has been valuable to the fourth-year linebacker.
"Just (understanding more) route concepts, the concepts they're doing to the back, away from the back, if it's a younger QB, trying to bring the route tree in front of him, windshield wiper routes, stuff like that," Landman said. "Just seeing how they're truly trying to attack, which I had a grasp on that before but just being with G-Money... seeing how he sees the game unfold, I've been able to grow that part of my game."
Landman is currently Pro Football Focus' eighth-highest graded coverage linebacker who have played at least 50 coverage snaps (76.0), is tied for the league lead in forced incompletions at his position (three) and his nine coverage stops (a tackle that leads to an unsuccessful play for the offense) is tied for third. He's on pace for career-highs in all those stats.
When the Rams signed Landman in free agency this past offseason, defensive coordinator Chris Shula said they weren't necessarily expecting him to be as impactful in coverage as he's been. But once he showed up to OTAs, that perception changed.
"He has a great feel in coverage, he really does," Shula said. "He has a great feel in zone. He has great vision off the quarterback, he communicates, he understands route concepts and he understands how one route affects another. He just has a great feel."
Although he's been labeled as more of a run-stopper in the NFL, he's always had proficiency in the pass game. Landman and Rams safety Quentin Lake played together in the Senior Bowl coming out of Colorado and UCLA, respectively, in 2022. His ability to be a complete, three-down linebacker was evident to Lake during that event.
Landman said earlier this season that he wants to bring back the "true mike linebacker" in his play style. One of the greatest of all time, Ray Lewis, manned the middle of Baltimore's defense for nearly two decades, and now Landman will get to show off that skill set against Lewis' former team on Sunday.
"He talked about being a true mike linebacker and bringing that style of play back, and when I think about a true mike linebacker, I think about a guy that can do it all and he's been able to do that," Lake said. "And he's gonna continue to grow. I can tell he's getting more and more and more comfortable."
So, while Shula may not have expected Landman's impact in coverage, Lake did, remembering the intelligent physicality he brought in both phases. And when the ball comes his way, Landman's head is just as much of a weapon as his hands, whether he's using it to anticipate routes or as a means to knock the ball loose.
During San Francisco's two-minute drill in the first half, Tonges ran a check-and-release angle route to the middle of the field, where Landman was positioned in zone coverage. As soon as Jones locked his eyes on the target and started his throwing motion, Landman broke on the ball. Tonges leapt to secure the catch, but before he could land with the ball in his hands, Landman speared the tight end and his helmet jarred the ball loose to force an incomplete pass.
Landman's closing speed and aggression were evident on that play, both of which he's shwon consistently throughout five games with the Rams. Landman said the Rams' training staff is "second to none" and they helped get his body to a level of health that he's never experienced before, enabling him to make those type of plays more consistently.
"I think this is the best my body's felt, looked and functioned in my career," Landman said.
This weekend, Landman will be tasked with blanketing the middle of the field against a Baltimore team with an experienced tight end in Mark Andrews. His intelligence and athleticism in coverage will go a long way in minimizing the damage that Andrews could inflict.
