All-Pro LA Rams DB Jalen Ramsey doing All-Pro things

LA Rams All-Pro defensive back Jalen Ramsey played the entire 2021 NFL season with two bad shoulders and still received the nod for All-Pro defensive back. Oh, and he added a bit of jewelry to his bedroom dresser: A Super Bowl LVI Championship ring. He’s been a key cog in the LA Rams defense since arriving in 2019.

Invariably, with each new NFL season comes a new wave of either veteran or rookie defensive backs who have a good season, and suddenly whether they lay claim themselves or through teammates or fans, try to claim superiority over Ramsey. They come, and they go. But Ramsey keeps on being . . . Ramsey.

Before we go any further, let’s reach a consensus. Achieving All-Pro status at any position in the NFL is incredibly difficult to do. When you are playing with two bad shoulders? It’s virtually impossible.

American Football is not soccer

And unlike some who have decried Ramsey’s 2021 performance, and cannot see why bad shoulders are so impactful, this is not European Football, a.k.a. soccer. In the NFL, a defensive back needs both shoulders at 100 percent health to allow that player to tackle, break up passes, shed blockers, and balance and pivot on a dime.

Now that he is healthy, he will be even better.  How can I be so sure? Because All-Pro LA Rams DB Jalen Ramsey does All-Pro things and playing even better after an injury-hampered season is part of the script.

In the NFL offseason, silly things pop up as real NFL newsworthy events fade away. So it should come as no surprise that an unnamed AFC executive described Jalen Ramsey as overrated. That is not surprising, but disappointing. Almost as disappointing as learning that former Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer didn’t know who Aaron Donald was.