5 LA Rams players you won’t see in horns in 2023

Player I: Safety

If there is a more controversial player on the LA Rams roster than defensive back Taylor Rapp, I do not know who that might be. Rapp has such a wide range from hot to cold to hot again, that it is tough to get a GPS on whether he is good or not. He grades well from Pro Football Focus because when he is out of position on pass coverage, he is so horrifically out of position that it is never obvious that he was responsible for coverage.

Repeatedly, whether it is an expected hand-off from cornerback Jalen Ramsey, looking the wrong way to simply miss coverage altogether, or playing too far off the ball to stop the pass play, Rapp can be quite frustrating to fans who expect more from him. But then again, when you least expect it, he can come from nowhere to pick off a pass, or to make a solid tackle.

In the box DB, but Rams eliminate that role

The problem is, he is an in-the-box type of defensive back who is truly not that dependable in pass coverage. He breaks on the ball and gets suckered by receivers who pull off double moves. He cheats by trying to read a quarterback’s eyes and lets the receiver run past him. And when you count off the receivers and the defensive backs, his ability to help out his teammates after the football leaves a quarterback’s hands is not prevalent.

Despite all these flaws, Taylor Rapp will almost certainly draw interest in the NFL Free Agency market. He has started 48 of 57 games for the Rams over the past four seasons and has averaged 2.25 interceptions per year over that time frame. He also has averaged 82.5 tackles per season as well.

The LA Rams invested in two inside linebackers, Bobby Wagner and Ernest Jones, who have all but eliminated Rapp’s primary role as a defensive back who can play in the box. As a result, he no longer holds as much value to the Rams roster as he does in the NFL Free Agency market.

Five players, all of whom are projected to test their value in the NFL Free Agency market. But if you expect one or more Rams free agency extensions from among this list, brace yourself now. I don’t believe that any of these five players will be back in 2023.