LA Rams: 3 positive takeaways from training camp arrivals
By Bret Stuter
Rookie DBs found their mentor
There are three levels of knowledge. There is the learning phase or student. There is the doing phase or performer. Finally, there is the teaching/instructor phase, or mentor. Darious Williams already mentoring rookie Robert Rochell, and that’s a good thing. Actually, it’s a great thing, both for Rochell to learn from one of the best in the NFL, but also from Williams’s perspective as it forces him to narrate what he is doing and why he is doing it.
Williams had a breakout year in 2020, but now he must prove that last year was not a fluke. Not that there is much of a risk of that, because as teams tried to avoid All-Pro defensive back Jalen Ramsey, they targeted Williams. If you don’t recall, Darious Williams has an incredible way of making NFL quarterbacks regret that decision.
At the 1:50 mark, Darious Williams talked about Robert Rochell and Brontae Harris are both eager to learn, and Williams is a solid instructor. You can tell that he almost seems to enjoy paying his knowledge forward with the Rams’ young defensive backs.
But when he talks about Robert Rochell, he changes his tone, almost to a bit of envy but most certainly about the physical gifts that Rochell possesses. In Williams own words
"“Scooter (Robert Rochell), he’s going to be a player. He’s explosive, he’s got everything in his body, you know what I’m saying, to become an elite corner so if I can help him, just like anybody else, as much as I can, I will give it to him, and it can increase the level of their game, then that’s what I’m going to try to do.”"
Williams sidestepped questions about playing on a one-year deal. While he made it very clear that he would love to return to the LA Rams, he knows that there are other issues that may prevent that from happening.
Williams is a confident proficient defensive back who exudes confidence. Having him as the go-to guy for the Rams younger cornerbacks is about as good as it could get because it’s clear that he wants to help out his teammates however he can. I like Darious Williams, a lot. I think he is the perfect counterpart for any secondary with Jalen Ramsey because their skills are complementary. Whether or not the LA Rams can make the math work is another matter altogether.
Until that time, Darious Williams is setting up the LA Rams, his team, to succeed this year and well into the future. That is something that endears me all the more to him.