LA Rams rookie DB Quentin Lake already has eyes set on the prize

It’s awfully difficult for a young rookie to make a name for himself in the NFL. But when you are the son of former NFL defensive back Carnell Lake, you really have your work cut out for yourself. But that is the least of LA Rams rookie Quentin Lake’s challenges for the moment.

The first order of business is impressing the LA Rams coaching staff, then establishing himself among the Rams secondary as a dependable teammate. That’s not going to be easy, because the fact is that injuries so decimated the 53-man roster in 2021, that the Rams front office wanted to ensure that there was adequate depth for the 2022 NFL season.

Right now, despite the LA Rams’ official website needing a bit of housecleaning (DB Donte Deayon is still listed on the roster), the team is about 14 players thick in their secondary.

And that is a tough group to compete against in training camp. After all, you cannot just grab the football field and demand that coaches check you out on each play. You have to work out, listen and learn attentively as techniques, strategies, and plays are pushed at you, and you’ve got to be your very best self while proving to be the very best teammate.

And you’ve got to do it all in new and unfamiliar settings.

Pick 211: SS Quentin Lake

There is a difference between a young man who is trying to make the NFL a career on his own, versus a young man who grew up knowing his father through his NFL career and yet embracing that same career despite knowing what to expect. Lake in the above interview has a chip on his shoulder, and that is encouraging to me.

As far as Quentin Lake’s biographic? He stands 6-foot-1, weighs 210 lbs, and possesses an extremely high football IQ. Best of all, he is a great maturity for the Rams locker room and possesses great leadership skills, and in the video, above he describes how his father taught him all about NFL secondary coverages.

It was great to hear from Lake about how Jalen Ramsey expects rookies to lock it in from the get-go. No mental mistakes. No slips.

The video is a lot of fun, and if you have the time, I highly recommend watching as much as you can.

Quentin Lake is thoughtful, direct, and calculating. He sounds more like a Day 2 prospect than a Day 3 prospect. He knows that he is a tough shot at the secondary roster, and he is already talking about excelling on special teams.  What are his chances of making the team’s roster?  They feel pretty good right now.