ESPN tabs one of the Los Angeles Rams position rooms as contenders for a title anyone would want this offseason
The Los Angeles Rams completely re-made their cornerback room this offseason and the effort got some recognition from ESPN.
The Los Angeles Rams spent this offseason hacking away at a few objectives.
Among them included addressing the quarterback position, both short-term and long-term. They’ve handled their business there with the new Matthew Stafford contract and drafting QB Ty Simpson in the first round. But what they’ve done at cornerback is probably the biggest lift that Les Snead, Sean McVay and company have undertaken. And now, as we enter the dog days of summer, the work done at cornerback has gotten a nod for a title that any general manager would want for his work.
ESPN calls out the Los Angeles Rams’ cornerback room as one of the most improved positions in the NFL
“The story of the Rams’ cornerback improvement starts not with McDuffie but with Watson. A suffocating presence at the line at 6-2 with over 32-inch arms, Watson is at his best winning the physicality battle in the first 5 yards. He isn’t a perfect player (see: George Pickens film in 2025), but he’s multiple tiers better than Forbes and Witherspoon. He will give Shula the tools he needs to play more man coverage, as will McDuffie, who is a wonderful press technician despite below-average 5-11 size.”
— Ben Solak, ESPN
ESPN’s Ben Solak has tabbed the Rams’ cornerback upgrades as the sixth-best improved position room in all of football this offseason. The most apparent move is the blockbuster trade for Trent McDuffie. But, as Solak points out, the Los Angeles Rams’ signing of Jaylen Watson also carries significant value in changing the DNA of the secondary. The Rams’ efforts this offseason do come at the unfortunate cost of learning the hard way that they were needed. Special teams and the cornerback position as a whole felt like the two areas that most frequently turned sour on the Rams in 2025.
The team was close. Painstakingly close. An NFC Championship Game appearance nearly turned into a Super Bowl berth. But Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba averaged 118 yards per game in three contests against the Rams last season. Let’s see if this year’s group is better equipped to have the answers.
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