As active as the Los Angeles Rams have been this offseason, they haven’t been overly aggressive in free agency. For them, it’s been more about quality than quantity.

They’ve signed just three notable outside free agents in Ndamukong Suh, Sam Shields and Ramik Wilson. Only Suh is guaranteed to have a noticeable impact in 2018, while the other two aren’t even guaranteed a roster spot.

Given the low-risk nature of the deals, there’s nothing wrong with that. Instead, the Rams will likely look to the draft to fill gaping holes at inside and outside linebacker. After all, the free agency pool has dried up significantly with very few starting-caliber options on the open market.

There is one player, however, who would have a significant impact next season, and he’s someone the Rams should be very familiar with.

For whatever reason, NaVorro Bowman remains unsigned. He’s coming off of a great season with the Raiders after being cut by San Francisco, recording 127 tackles, 1.5 sacks, three passes defensed and one interception. The majority of those numbers came in Oakland where he proved to be one of the better run-defending linebackers in football.

And would you look at that: Run defense is the Rams’ biggest hole right now. A match made in heaven, right? It would seem so.

The Raiders are clearly the front-runners to sign Bowman this offseason, but they’ve taken a surprisingly long time to do so. Some speculate that releasing punter Marquette King will free up enough space to get a deal done with Bowman soon, but there hasn’t been any clear movement on that front.

This is where the Rams should swoop in and pluck him from the Raiders’ (slowly) closing grasp. Landing Bowman would not only fill a major need at inside linebacker, but he would make the defense significantly better. He was Pro Football Focus’ 11th-rated linebacker last season, earning an overall grade of 84.8.

That’s substantially better than Mark Barron’s grade of 71.2 (44th) and Alec Ogletree’s 38.9 overall grade (76th). Bowman isn’t perfect – he’s lost a step due to injury and still comes with durability concerns – but next to Barron, he makes the Rams’ interior defense far more formidable.

He’d have a far better defensive line in front of him than the one he had in Oakland, too. Suh, Aaron Donald and Michael Brockers are all outstanding when it comes to getting penetration, which obviously makes a linebacker’s job far easier.

Bowman would be provided easier reads, fewer blockers to fight off and could roam more freely in the middle of the field. He would also remain in a 3-4 defense, which is what he’s played in for the majority of his career in the NFL.

If the Rams were to sign Bowman, it would free them up in the draft. There wouldn’t be that added pressure to find an inside linebacker in the first or third rounds, allowing Los Angeles to take the best player available, or BPA. It would make selecting Harold Landry or Marcus Davenport over someone like Rashaan Evans much easier to fathom.

Signing Bowman would also make a trade down far more likely, too. If they enter the draft without adding another starting-caliber linebacker, it’ll be difficult for the Rams to pass on someone like Evans or Leighton Vander Esch if they were to fall to No. 23. With Bowman (hypothetically) in the mix, they’d be able to trade down, add more picks and not feel pressured into picking an inside linebacker in the first.

Whether this connection happens or not remains to be seen – the Rams haven’t been linked to Bowman – but signing a surefire starter for relatively cheap in free agency seems like a wise move. Releasing Barron as a post-June 1 cut and saving $9 million makes that move even easier to make, providing the Rams with an upgraded linebacker unit before the draft.