3 reasons to love LA Rams acquiring veteran CB Troy Hill

Reason II – He’s a steal

A starting CB for a future fifth-round draft pick cannot be over-emphasized folks. The LA Rams’ need for a starting cornerback for the 2022 NFL season nearly drove the team to rework multiple contracts, pushing salary dollars into future years, and try to manage that salary cap burden for years to come.

The LA Rams have discovered a work-around for that issue that served them well in the 2021 NFL season was to trade for a veteran who could come in and start for the LA Rams in the last year of their contract. The Rams traded a 2022 sixth-round and a 2023 fourth-round draft pick for running back Sony Michel. They later traded one 2022 second-round and one third-round pick for veteran outside linebacker Von Miller.

By comparison, the Rams traded a single fifth-round for a player who will almost assuredly start the entire 2022 NFL season for the Rams. Even as the news was announced, some have already begun to comment that the Rams will regret the decision.  I think the opposite.

As a 16-game starter for the LA Rams in 2020, the Rams’ pass defense was the best in the NFL. That really was no accident. Hill is a defensive back who may not shine in man coverage, but in the zone, he is a beast. It was near the end of the 2020 season that the defense played more man coverages, and Hill responded in kind.

He had three interceptions for the Rams in 2020, including two pick-sixes. He routinely matched up against the second-best wide receiver, allowing Darious Williams to watch the third receiver, but also play a rogue who could jump routes. Did you notice how quickly Williams’s play regressed when he was tasked with Hill’s schemed coverages? As Hill resumes his heavy lifting role in pass coverage, the other defensive backs will be able to frustrate opposing quarterbacks.