NL #53

Nate Landman

Linebacker · Colorado

An undrafted linebacker out of Colorado who turned a one-year Rams deal into a career-best, captain-caliber breakout season.

Nate Landman built his name as a tackling machine at Colorado, then had to fight his way into the league as an undrafted free agent. After three seasons in Atlanta, he signed a one-year prove-it deal with the Rams in 2025 and immediately became the defense's signal-caller and leading tackler, earning a big-money extension by year's end.

★ 2x first-team All-Pac-12 at Colorado (2019, 2020)

★ NFC Defensive Player of the Week (Week 1, 2025)

★ Rams franchise record for tackles in a single game (17)

★ Signed a three-year, $22.5 million extension after a 132-tackle 2025 season

★ Rams defensive team captain and green-dot signal caller

Path to the league

Landman was born in Harare, Zimbabwe, while his father played rugby there, before the family settled in Danville, California. At Colorado, he was twice named first-team All-Pac-12 (2019, 2020) and posted a career-high 104 tackles as a sophomore. He went undrafted in 2022 and signed with the Atlanta Falcons.

Career highlights

Landman spent his first three NFL seasons with Atlanta, highlighted by a 110-tackle 2023 campaign that also included two sacks, an interception, three pass breakups and three forced fumbles. He signed a one-year deal with the Rams in March 2025 and quickly became the team's green-dot defender, calling plays for defensive coordinator Chris Shula's unit.

2025 season recap

Landman was a difference-maker from the outset, earning NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors in Week 1 after forcing a fumble and racking up 10 tackles against Houston. He went on to post a career-high and team-high 132 total tackles, 2.5 sacks, six passes defensed, an interception and a league-leading four forced fumbles among Rams defenders across 17 games, and he set the Rams' single-game franchise record with 17 tackles. Los Angeles rewarded the breakout with a three-year, $22.5 million extension.