Darious Williams and 6 other Rams who are slept on as training camp opens

(2) - DB Darious Williams

The Rams reunited with defensive back Darious Williams, one of the veterans who were intended to solidify the team's shaky secondary. But with the season-ending injury to Derion Kendrick, the hamstring injury that sent Williams to IR, and the horrific chaos caused by not-ready-for-prime-time DB Tre'Davius White, the Rams secondary opened the 2024 season flat-footed.

It was so bad that the team rushed Williams back from IR as quickly as possible, and re-signed former cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon to the team's practice squad. Williams was installed, Witherspoon was elevated, and White was benched. But the chaos lingered, impacting the secondary due to the inability to work on coordination, chemistry, and communication.

Worse yet, I fear that Williams suffered in silence due to the lingering effects of his hamstring injury. Those suspicions seem to be backed up by Darious Williams' 2024 statistics. His interceptions plummeted, while the catch percentage for receivers he covered skyrocketed. Williams allowed three touchdowns, the most he allowed since surrendering four touchdowns in 2021. But in 2021, he started 17 games, played 925 defensive snaps, and was targeted 92 times.

Last season, he played 766 defensive snaps and was targeted just 59 times. But it's virtually impossible to distinguish how much of his 2024 performance was due to a new defense, how much was due to lingering injury effects, and how much was simply due to poor coordination and communication with an ill-prepared secondary.

Williams was far better than he showed last season. How do I know? He only allowed five receptions in 15 targets in the 2025 NFL Playoffs, and surrendered no touchdowns. That is a better reflection of how well a healthy Darious Williams will perform in 2025. There is much speculation about the uncertainty surrounding the Rams secondary in 2025. But one thing is certain. Darious Williams will put up career-high numbers.

He knows the defense. He knows his teammates. Now, he merely needs to stay healthy.

(1) - WR Puka Nacua

Let's face it, the Los Angeles Rams offense is going to be powered by third-year wide receiver Puka Nacua. Nacua is the poster child of the Rams' wide receiver prototype. He stands 6-foot-2, weighs 215 pounds, runs precision routes, makes contested catches, and has enough power to break tackles and put up plenty of yards after the catch.

He's started and competed in 28 games over two NFL seasons, and has already amassed 2,476 receiving yards, nine touchdowns, and 115 first downs. Of his 2,476 yards, 1,150 receiving yards are yards after the catch. He has 17 broken tackles as a receiver and three broken tackles as a rusher. And he gives his quarterback a 103.5 rating whenever he is targeted. Of 266 targets, he has 14 drops. But of 106 targets in 2024, he only dropped one pass.

He has soft hands that boast a vice-like grip. He breaks tackles like a power back, blocks like a tight end, and yet keeps on running crisp routes that often result in clutch receptions. His career catch rate is 69.2 percent, but he caught 74.2 percent of his passes in 2024. Despite playing in just 65.7 percent of the games last season, he put up 990 receiving yards and three touchdowns.

In his first two NFL seasons, and just 28 games, wide receiver Puka Nacua has already skyrocketed to 20th place on the Rams All-Time Career Receiving Leaders. If he gains 1200 receiving yards, he could climb to 14th place on the list, in hot pursuit of teammate tight end Tyler Higbee.

Despite his outstanding rookie season, and his phenomenal production in just 11 games last season,

And yet, despite his elite production, NFL analysts and experts still underestimate him.

So be it. Let the preseason awards be handed out to other receivers. Puka Nacua shows up when it counts, on the football field. And he has been adding new options to his bag of tricks, courtesy of veteran wide receiver Davante Adams. Rams training camp is underway. While the headlines will be filled with new names and faces, just remember this. Seven Rams veterans are determined to make a positive impact in 2025.

I, for one, say they do.

As always, thanks for reading.

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