The Rams were selective in the defensive moves they made during the offseason, but nobody improved more than they did on that side of the ball thanks to the two additions they made at cornerback.
The trade for Chiefs Pro Bowler Trent McDuffie, then signing his teammate, Jaylen Watson, in free agency completely changed the complexion of the Rams’ defense.
Outside of that, they were relatively quiet in both free agency and the 2026 NFL Draft on defense. That isn’t necessarily a surprise, as they are brimming with young talent at nearly every position. But in terms of noise, they could not have been any louder in improving their cornerback room, which was their biggest weakness last season.
Here is a look at where the defensive depth chart stands, post free agency and draft:
Defensive line
Starters: DE Braden Fiske, NT Poona Ford, DT Kobie Turner
Reserves: Ty Hamilton, Jaxson Moi, Jalen Logan-Redding, Tyler Davis, Tim Keenan III, Bill Norton, Larrell Murchison, Payton Zdroik
The skinny: The Rams have done a solid job of building an effective defensive line over the last few years, leaving them with no big needs in this area. They added Keenan as a late-draft reinforcement, and he’ll get a chance to earn a spot in the rotation, but the Rams were essentially set here thanks to the work they have done over the years.
Bottom line: The Rams were excellent against the run last year, and it starts up front. In terms of long range, Fiske and Ford are under contract through the 2027 season, but Turner is on an expiring contract, so a decision needs to be made on his long-term future.
Linebackers
Starters: Byron Young, Jared Verse, Nate Landman, Omar Speights
Reserves: Josaiah Stewart, Grant Stuard, Shaun Dolac, Elias Neal, Desjuan Johnson, Keir Thomas II, Eddie Walls III, Nikhai Hill-Green, Wesley Bailey, Darryl Peterson III
The skinny: According to Pro Football Focus, only three edge rushers earned a top-15 grade in both pass rush and run defense last year. One was Young, who broke through in 2025 with career highs in sacks (12) and 82 tackles. The other two were Myles Garrett and Will Anderson.
That speaks to Young’s emergence as a force off the edge and why he is up for a big payday on a new contract extension. But for the Rams’ defense to take another step forward, especially in closing out games, they need Verse to have a similar emergence in his third season. Verse is an outstanding player, but he needs to be more consistent in terms of great reps to average ones. He’s too good for the high-to-low fluctuation he’s sometimes prone to. If that happens, the Rams will field one of the most lethal pass rush tandems in the NFL.
Bottom line: The Rams have one of the best one-two punches off the edge in Young and Verse, and there is an absolute ceiling to improve. As far as their inside linebackers, they passed on upgrading at that position, hoping Speights and Landman can continue to provide serviceable play. Expect them to address that area moving forward.
Cornerback
Starters: Trent McDuffie, Jaylen Watson, Quentin Lake
Reserves: Emmanuel Forbes Jr., Cam Lampkin, Josh Wallace, Alex Johnson, Drey Norwood, Al’zillion Hamilton, Nyzier Fourqurean
The skinny: Cornerback became a liability for the Rams last year, and they prioritized that position in the offseason. It’s hard to imagine them handling that task any better than they did in trading for McDuffie and then signing Watson in free agency. In the blink of an eye, a weakness became a strength. To put that in perspective, if that cornerback tandem were in place last year, the Rams likely would have played in the Super Bowl.
Bottom line: With Lake manning the slot cornerback spot, and McDuffie and Watson on the perimeter, the Rams are as strong as they’ve been in years at their top three corner spots. Lampkin and Wallace provide solid depth. The Rams are set here for a while, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if they added another veteran depth piece.
Safety
Starters: Kamren Kinchens, Kam Curl
Reserves: Jaylen McCollough, Nate Valcarcel, Tanner Ingle, Nick Andersen
The skinny: The Rams were essentially hands-off at safety this offseason, a clear sign they are encouraged by the young talent they have assembled. Also, keep in mind that with McDuffie, a do-it-all corner able to line up in the slot, that means Lake can be deployed at his more natural safety position from time to time.
Bottom line: The work the Rams did at cornerback improves all phases of their defense, including on the back end at safety, a position they already felt good about.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com
