How DB Jordan Fuller has transformed the LA Rams defense

How DB Jordan Fuller has transformed the LA Rams defense

Did you read my piece about LA Rams rookie safety Jordan Fuller being one of the late-round gems in the 2020 NFL Draft late last month? Now, after the first game of the season, Fuller is already impacting this defense tremendously.

Los Angeles Rams rookie safety Jordan Fuller is already one of the top young defenders in the NFL. His effectiveness as a deep safety in the opening game of the season was impressive. I can promise you that the Philadelphia Eagles are going to try to keep the ball away from him in the upcoming game this Sunday.

Basement bargain

How did Fuller fall to the 199th overall selection of the 2020 NFL Draft? In all honesty, it was his combine performance. Fuller ran a 4.67-second 40-yard dash, something that seriously concerned evaluators. He had good length, standing at 6-foot-2 and weighing in at 203-pounds, but the forty time heightened concerns that Fuller wouldn’t be able to play sideline to sideline.

The tape that Fuller put together at Ohio State University would suggest otherwise. He collected 216 tackles and five interceptions in his time as a Buckeye and made jaw-dropping plays at times. Here is a play where he is making a huge interception. Now, Jordan Fuller becoming a strong part of the Rams defense. He played in 71 of the Rams 72 defensive snaps on Sunday night. Let’s talk about how Fuller was able to impact the game against the Dallas Cowboys this Sunday, and how he can impact the game against the Eagles.

Jordan Fuller’s impact as a deep safety

Jordan Fuller spent a lot of time as a deep safety in action against the Cowboys. The Rams played a good bit of cover two zones against the Dallas Cowboys in their Sunday Night Football home opener and played Darious Williams down low as a nickel defender. Defensive coordinator Brandon Staley made the best use of the players’ talent in the opener. That’s the facts.

Let’s start with this play: this is a tremendous play by Fuller, and I’m going to explain why. Teammate Jalen Ramsey misses the tackle on Michael Gallup, and Fuller gets off of a block to make the tackle on the sideline.

Look at the amount of space that Cowboys wide receiver Michael Gallup has when he breaks the tackle away from cornerback Jalen Ramsey. And, you will see blockers down the field moving against the Rams defense when Fuller comes in to make the tackle. Gallup tried to use the block that he had received from his teammate. Fuller was able to get off of the block and make the play, preventing the play from exploding further and possibly going for a touchdown.

Saving the day

If he doesn’t get off of the block, there’s a very good chance that Gallup scores a touchdown. Jordan Fuller does a phenomenal job keeping this play from exploding. Dallas Cowboys rookie wide receiver CeeDee Lamb is a phenomenal talent, especially after the catch. Fuller’s tackling technique is special.

The next play here: Fuller shows just how effective he is as a tackler. As I noted in the tweet above, CeeDee Lamb is electric after the catch. His tackling form is almost flawless. He takes a low angle, leads with his shoulder, and wraps up the play right then and there. It’s beautiful to see.

Without making this tackle, there’s a very good chance Lamb goes and scores a touchdown. Look at all of the green grass around him on this play. Instead, Fuller prevents the first down, makes a solid stop, and shows that he is effective as a deep safety, reading and diagnosing the play.

Fuller’s most important trait

Reactive athleticism is one of the more important traits for defenders. Take an athlete like former Chicago Bears receiver/returner  Devin Hester for example, who entered the league in 2006 as a cornerback. He was an electric return man but he struggled tremendously as a cornerback in the league. Hester ended up getting moved to wide receiver where he was a good bit more effective outside of his role as a return man.

Why? He is an immensely gifted athlete. However, his mind is more proactive than reactive. He could create plays with his athleticism, but he wasn’t good at reacting to someone’s creativity. Instead, he processes faster than almost everyone else out there on the football field. Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott busts out a big run with a very large crease. Fuller has deep cover two, you’ll see him drop at the beginning of the play. Again, reactive athleticism brings Fuller back into the play.

Faster processing speed is a huge weapon in the NFL.

Jordan Fuller is more reactive and that’s what makes his game so effective. Look at this play for example. I pointed out in the tweet that you can see from the broadcast angle that he drops into a deep zone. When Elliott breaks out of the box, Fuller uses his closing speed and reacts to the play, coming down to quickly prevent the play from breaking further.  One of the things that Fuller does extremely well is to read and diagnose the play. You see his reactive athleticism on display here and it’s very good. He makes the tackle with Jalen Ramsey.

You can see here that he’s quick to react. He reads Dak Prescott’s eyes and moves on the football quickly. He’s already moving toward the receiver as Prescott is throwing the football. That’s solid reactive athleticism and good defensive IQ.

The concerns that I have about Fuller in week two

I’ve spent the last couple of days, here and on Twitter, praising Jordan Fuller for the positives that he brings to the Rams defense and the good traits that he shows. I wouldn’t be a true analyst if I didn’t point out the bad. Fuller, as good as he was week one, wasn’t without flaws.

Sometimes, the angles that Fuller takes when pursuing the play to the boundary are bad. Fuller easily gets caught up in traffic and oftentimes undercuts the angle trying to make a big play and limit the yardage gained. According to the advanced defensive stats on Pro Football Reference, he missed 3 tackles. With experience, hopefully, Fuller will learn that the job of safety isn’t to make the big play all of the time, it’s to stop the play, so he will learn when to be smart about his angles and when to go all in.

Two tight ends can be problematic

The Eagles have a couple of big tight ends that will need to be defended one-on-one at times because of the speed that they have on the perimeter. Between DeSean Jackson and rookie Jalen Reagor, the Eagles have some serious speed that they can send down the field. Combine that with the size of both Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert, and it’s concerning because Fuller is going to have to be one-on-one with tight ends at times.

According to advanced stats, Fuller gave up 4 of 5 attempts his way last week, and 19 yards after the catch. It’s a little bit concerning because that’s another reason why teams were concerned with the 4.67-second 40-yard dash – how well can he hold up in one-on-one situations?

There are question marks heading into the Eagles game this Sunday, but Fuller came up big against the Cowboys and it’s hard to imagine him not producing against the Eagles. Armed with his smart play and reactive athleticism, Fuller will be an impact again and add strength to the Rams back-end.