With 2:41 left in the second quarter of the Rams’ Sunday afternoon matchup with the Saints, Alvin Kamara took a plunge forward on a critical fourth and one. He was stopped by a brick wall of Rams defenders.

Among them was Bryce Hager, a special teams veteran who was thrust into a starting linebacker role due to cuts and injuries.

Hager’s tenure with the Rams dates all the way back to when the team was in St. Louis. The 224th overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, Hager has earned a roster spot with the Rams each of the past five seasons. The first four years were primarily due to his role on special teams. He’s only appeared sparingly on defense over the years.

In his fifth season with the team, Hager is being asked to be one of the team’s primary run stoppers, and he’s doing a solid job.

“Bryce has done a really nice job in our base defense and in some of our heavier-situational packages,” Sean McVay said when asked to evaluate Hager’s performance so far this season. “He’s played really consistent. He’s done exactly what we’ve asked of him. That’s kind of what Bryce has done any time he’s gotten his opportunities.”

Hager is a limited player as an inside linebacker, but the Rams have been playing to his strengths. They’ve split up his snaps with rookie safety Taylor Rapp. Hager handles the run-focused downs, and Rapp handles the pass-focused downs. It’s worked out pretty well for both guys so far.

The numbers back up McVay’s sentiment on Hager. Pro Football Focus has given Hager a grade of 78.5 over the first two weeks of the season. It’s the 10th highest score for eligible linebackers, and he ranks right ahead of players such as Bobby Wagner and Dont’a Hightower.

Even more impressive is Hager’s run defense score of 76.8, which ranks sixth overall among eligible linebackers and is far ahead of Cory Littleton’s score of 65.6 (in Littleton’s defense, his overall score of 90.1 is the highest in the NFL). Hager’s numbers are obviously a little inflated since he’s sitting on passing downs. Still, they do indicate a very good start for a career special teamer.

Hager was competing with second-year linebacker Micah Kiser for the starting job next to Littleton. When Kiser went down with an injury this preseason, Hager became the de facto starter. The Rams seem more than content with him being their man in the middle.

“We keep referencing when he ended up playing a bunch in the Arizona game a couple years ago,” McVay added on his new inside linebacker. “These first two weeks have represented good consistency from Bryce. He continues to be a big part of special teams. He’s done a really good job. He definitely was involved in that fourth-and-one stop.”

The game McVay is referring to occurred quite a while ago. In an early December bout against the Arizona Cardinals, Hager filled in at linebacker for an injured Alec Ogletree. His performance was more than solid. Hager recorded four tackles, defended a pass, and registered a QB hit on Arizona quarterback Blaine Gabbert. Essentially, a game against a journeyman backup quarterback two years ago is what gave McVay and his coaching staff confidence that Hager can step in at linebacker. Who says every game doesn’t matter?

Hager and Rapp have both been impressive in filling the void left by Mark Barron at inside linebacker. They’ll both have an opportunity to continue to shine under the bright primetime lights in Cleveland this Sunday.