LA Rams: We aren’t surprised so many surprised by Terrell Burgess Day 1

Good things travel in pairs

Jordan Fuller shocked the NFL in 2020 by emerging as the LA Rams starting safety on the best defense in the league. Now Terrell Burgess has a chance to shock the NFL for the second season in a row, by vying for and hopefully winning the starting safety role alongside Fuller. That is a huge win for the Rams because the second-year teammates can deliver excellence to the Rams secondary for years to come.

Little things like hitting on two starting defensive backs in one draft can make all the difference, but landing two starting safeties on day three of the same NFL Draft is like hitting the million-dollar lottery. While there is plenty of training camp to go, Burgess showing up this well this early is a vastly promising sign of things to come.

The Philadelphia Eagles drafted Lito Sheppard (pick 26), Michael Brown (pick 59), and Sheldon Brown (pick 58) in the 2002 NFL Draft, all early in the draft. The Eagles went on to finish the season at 12-4 in 2002, 12-4 in 2003, and 13-3 in 2004. Great secondaries can make a huge difference in terms of an NFL team’s success. Now compare that success with the Rams, who drafted at 104 and 199. That is a far more difficult task to land players who can start in the NFL. Yet, the organization appears to be well on its way.

The LA Rams have a chance at putting up similarly impressive records in successive years. All-Pro DB Jalen Ramsey just signed a multi-year extension last year. If Burgess succeeds at winning a starting role in this secondary, the Rams will be set at three of four positions for the next three years. On a unit that is so utterly dependent upon communication, the ever-increasing chances of Burgess joining the starting ranks is a very positive development.

Nobody is talking about Burgess, or Fuller for that matter, getting a nod for the Pro Bowl in this article. Just starting roles. That’s enough for now. We can investigate Pro Bowl, and All-Pro nods, later.