Getty Sean McVay and Les Snead on August 29, 2019 in Houston.
The Los Angeles Rams have earned plenty of praise for their more aggressive draft approach under general manager Les Snead and head coach Sean McVay, reeling in 14 draft picks through the 2023 cycle. But they received additional praise for adding a defender called one of the top undrafted free agents available after the draft.
Ryan Tallbot of New York Upstate and syracuse.com revealed the Rams signed linebacker DeAndre Square out of Kentucky. Tallbot praised both the move and Square’s game which included his post-draft title.
“Per source, LB DeAndre Square is signing with the Los Angeles Rams. Square was one of the top UDFAs on the market,” Tallbot said on Twitter.
Tallbot had a backer in that claim through Daniel Hager of On3Sports.
“There isn’t a player with more heart than Square in the entire Draft Class,” Hager said before dropping this bold prediction: “He is going to grind his way onto the roster mark my words.”
‘Major Sleeper’ is What Another Analyst Says of Square
Fans who followed Kentucky obviously followed the journey of second rounder Will Levis at quarterback. However, Square was another player who became beloved in the Bluegrass State.
Zac Oakes of SB Nation followed the journey of Square and his linebacker game in Lexington. He wrote in October 2022 how Square was a player who came up with big play after big play.
“In the middle of the Kentucky defense, Square is a leader who anchors the center of the Wildcats defense, providing solid pass coverage and consistently being among the team leader in tackles, while coming up with big play after big play,” Oakes wrote.
Oakes was still perplexed that Square wasn’t given much NFL hype.
“It’s surprising, in some sense, that he isn’t viewed as more of an NFL Draft prospect,” Oakes said. “Although size and other factors seem to play a role in that determination.”
Square had an additional strong endorser in Wildcats defensive coordinator Brad White in a conversation he had with ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg during another October 2022 interview.
“If you’re looking for a big 240-pound inside backer, that’s not him,” White told Rittenberg. “He’s going to be that 220, 225 pounds, he can run, he’s savvy, he can sort blocks, he’s shown he can be violent in finishing tackles. He’s going to have to fit somebody as a Will backer.”
Square went on to collect 303 total tackles, 150 solo stops, 23 tackles for a loss, 6.5 sacks, broke up seven passes and snatched three interceptions per Sports Reference. The 6-foot-1, 224-pounder also forced three fumbles and recovered one.
‘Always been a Ram’
Though he wore the UK blue in his collegiate career, Square is no stranger to Ram colors — it was one of the first football colors he had on.
Following the announcement from the Kentucky football Twitter page on Square’s signing with the Rams, Square posted an old picture of himself when he was seven…with a uniform that’ll likely win over members of the “Rams House.”
Square became one of 21 undrafted free agent signings made by the Rams. He’s one of four in the linebacker category heading to L.A. alongside Ryan Smenda (Wake Forest), Kelechi Anyalebechi (Incarnate Word) and hybrid safety/linebacker Jaiden Woodbey (Florida State/Boston College).