Will David Long Jr. play a larger role in the LA Rams defense?

With the 79th pick of the 2019 NFL Draft, the LA Rams selected cornerback David Long Jr., from the University of Michigan. At the time, the LA Rams boasted starting cornerbacks Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib and were still in the afterglow of Nickell Robey-Coleman’s NFC Championship heroics/villainy. It all seemed to add up to enough to cover the team’s secondary needs.

But the 5-foot-11 196-pound defensive back was a surprising find at pick 79. While just a two-year starter, he had a stellar reputation as one of the Wolverines that opposing quarterbacks simply did not throw at. If they did, he made them pay.

The belief at the time is that the Rams planned to add this defensive back to take over eventually for veteran Aqib Talib.  Others shrugged and suggested that the selection was simply a good team selecting the best player available (BPA).  David Long Jr. was a college defensive back with an incredible reputation, some projected him to go as early as late in round one.

Stolen property

Adding Long was one of the biggest steals of the 2019 NFL Draft claimed many. Virtually everyone expected him to evolve into an NFL starter in two years. Well, two years is now up. So it’s the consensus that David Long Jr. could play a larger role at the ‘other cornerback position’ this year.

But did the Rams get the idea that David Long Jr. is truly stolen property, and that they need to wait on using him until the heat cools off? While he has seen action in 24 games so far, he’s seen 225 defensive snaps and 399 special teams snaps. He’s even started a game. But his production, at least from a tackles standpoint, is just 16 tackles over his first two NFL seasons.  He doesn’t miss tackles. It’s just that the ballcarrier is not hanging out in his neighborhood.

Long has been pretty good in pass coverage so far. He’s only allowed 14 completions on 19 targets so far. While it has room to improve, Long has been working in a cameo role so far. That could change dramatically in 2021.

Over the Hill

The Rams lost veteran defensive back Troy Hill to free agency in 2021. Hill was 5-foot-11 and weighed 183 pounds. Say, that’s the same height and slightly lighter than Long right? And much like Hill, Long’s draft profile was specific to cite adequate to good coverage in certain schemes, but leaves-something-to-be-desired in other coverage schemes.

And so, while Troy Hill exits, he leaves the door open for David Hill Jr. to enter and earn a significant role in the Rams 2021 defense. And I look for that to happen. You see, Hill can stick to receivers, but may not be able to chase them one-on-one downfield on deep routes.

Lo and behold, Raheem Morris’ defense can scheme alternatives for deep coverage, keeping Long in his wheelhouse. And a surge of Long Jr. into the third starting role gives the team another year to develop both 2020’s and this year’s crop of defensive backs who have the talent but lack the coaching and training to succeed in the NFL.