What roles can 10 remaining UDFAs fill with LA Rams in 2021?

Cornerback

The LA Rams were not oblivious to the fact that the 2021 NFL roster would be complicated in the secondary. Knowing that both Troy Hill and Darious Williams were on their final contract year. So the Rams took advantage of a deep secondary from the 2020 draft class and added four defensive backs after the 2020 NFL Draft.  CB Tyrique McGhee, who was suspended in 2020 for two games without pay, never made the 53-man roster.

Unfortunately, making the 53-man roster was not the same as seeing action. And while McGhee did not clear the threshold of playing in 2020, the Rams defensive backs room is now shy of two starters. The Rema faces 2021 with Jalen Ramsey, Dont’e Deayon, David Long Jr., and Tyrique McGhee. While the Rams may act to retain Darious Williams for 2021, they have not done so yet. Even so, the Rams know what is at stake, and if the team needs to keep DWill on the roster, they will find the funds to do so.

Meanwhile, McGhee remained with the team throughout 2020. Due to multiple injuries to safeties, the team found it necessary to promote both JuJu Hughes and late signed J.R. Reed to the active roster. Thankfully for the team, no such injury impacted the team’s starting cornerback. Unfortunately for McGhee, that meant that he would remain on the practice squad all season.

Of course, this is the same McGhee whose foot injury twice prevented him from playing against rival Florida. That was a huge disappointment, as he was their star from the 2018 Rose Bowl win over the Oklahoma Sooners. McGhee, like many of the undrafted rookies signed to the roster in 2020, were great players for their football programs who faced formidable opponents.

Don’t discount these returning players

As the LA Rams pare their salary cap, and perhaps even the roster, keep in mind that the team did not drive blindly into the 2021 season. The players signed in 2020, and who remained with the team until 2021, were tested, trained, and put through their paces throughout last year. While many of us did not witness their growth, the decision-makers for the Rams roster certainly had the power to part ways painlessly.

Now, those same powers that be are at the 2021 NFL season crossroads. Even as these players went along for the ride for the most part in 2020, they are definitely part of the team’s strategic plan for 2021. They remained on the roster to compete for playing time, for offensive and defensive snaps, perhaps even to compete for a starting role this year.   It’s not all about the new faces who will join the team from free agency or the 2021 NFL Draft. Some of the 2021 success will happen thanks to these 10 players who hung around through the 2020 season.