DC Chris Shula's safety skullduggery is Step 1 to a revitalized Rams secondary

In 2017, the Los Angeles Rams secondary boasted safeties John Johnson III and Lamarcus Joyner. They were solid fits for a Rams defense that was the brainchild of then-Defensive Coordinator Wade Phillips. Phillips was masterful at blending veterans with rookies, and the combination of rookie John Johnson III with veteran Lamarcus Joyner was a prime exhibit of that chemistry at work.

When Joyner moved on in free agency, the team happily added veteran Eric Weddle to replace him, as well as drafting rookie safety Taylor Rapp. JJIII was injured that season, forcing the team to promote rookie Rapp to a starting role. As long as he was able to play alongside veteran Weddle, Rapp was adequate enough to fill a hard-hitting defensive back role in the defense.

Problems began to develop after that 2019 NFL season with the team's secondary. The presence of All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey allowed the team to field less pass defender-capable safeties. The team added Ramsey towards the end of 2019, and he certainly gave the secondary a newfound swagger for 2020. But the team shrewdly promoted rookie safety Jordan Fuller to a starting role after an injury to Taylor Rapp. The combination of Fuller and Johnson was superb, as Fuller was the shrewd cagey pass defender who picked off three passes, while Johnson was the veteran enforcer recorded 105 tackles while breaking up eight passes.

Rapp era was more about Weddle coming out of retirement

The Rams front office had developed a pattern of adding rookie defensive backs each year, and letting other teams lure them away with lucrative contracts. When the Cleveland Browns signed John Johnson away at the end of the 2020 NFL season, the Rams opted to start Taylor Rapp and Jordan Fuller at the two safety positions.

While Rapp replaced John Johnson III's enforcer role on defense, the Rams got better defense from second-year safety Jordan Fuller. While the Rams defense was good enough to carry the team to and through the NFL Playoffs, it was not due to the heroics of Rapp. A deeper dive into the numbers in 2021 reveals that Jordan Fuller allowed just 66.7 percent of passes targeting his receiver to find their targets. He allowed just two touchdowns, picked off one pass, and broke up four passes that season.

It was a different tale for Rapp shows that he allowed 74.1 percent of passes thrown his way to be completed. He did break up six passes, picked off four passes, but allowed a disappointing four touchdown passes. Worst of all, he missed 10.5 percent of his tackles, frequently making hard contact with a teammate who left the game for a play or two after being shaken up.

The Rams secondary got a new lease on life when DC Raheem Morris lured former safety Eric Weddle out of a two-year retirement to compete for the Rams in time for the playoffs. It was the combination of Weddle and seldom-used but hard-hitting safety Nick Scott that turned the tide for the Rams defense.

Scott was particularly effective, lowering the boom on opposing receivers. The highlight play of the NFC Championship Game against the San Francisco 49ers was a tackle by Scott on 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel that knocked the football loose and shook Samuel up so violently that he was a non-factor for the remainder of the game.

Retooling Rams safeties proved challenging

In 2022, the Rams defense opted to start both safety Taylor Rapp and Nick Scott. That decision was a bit confusing, as neither Rapp nor Scott were particularly as effective in pass coverage as Jordan Fuller. The proof was in the pudding, as both Rapp and Scott allowed four touchdown passes in 2022 respectively. Rapp improved slightly in pass coverage, allowing just 71.7 percent of passes thrown his way to find their mark. Scott allowed an even more horrendous 79.3 percent of passes thrown his way to find their mark.

On a positive note, Rapp missed just 6.1 percent of his tackles while breaking up while Scott missed 10.4 percent of his tackles while breaking up five pass plays. But much like the challenge of lining up linebackers Christian Rozeboom and Troy Reeder side-by-side in the Rams defense in 2024, Rapp and Scott's skills were nearly identical. That amplified their weaknesses at coverage, and opposing offense exploited those weaknesses.

After 2022, Taylor Rapp signed on with the Buffalo Bills while Nick Scott signed on with the Cincinnati Bengals. The Rams reverted to Jordan Fuller and combined him with rookie safety Russ Yeast. Pass defense immediately improved, as Yeast allowed just 68.3 percent of his targets to be completed. He also held the line to just two touchdowns. Fuller allowed just 63 percent of passes to find their targets and allowed just three touchdowns. The pair combined for 13 pass breakups, and Fuller even added three interceptions.

The team also welcomed back veteran John Johnson III, who chimed in with eight starts, six pass breakups, and two interceptions, while allowing a completion rate of just 61.5 percent with two touchdowns.

While the team finally got impressive performances from safeties once more, it was not something that would last. The Rams allowed Jordan Fuller to sign with the Carolina Panthers after his rookie contract expired. Once again, the Rams defense was left with the question: Who will step up or be added to this defense to play center field in the secondary?

Shula's safeties are a renewed strength to the Rams defense

When the Rams promoted positional coach Chris Shula to become the Rams Defensive Coordinator, there was a bit of a mystery as to what he wanted to make his primary focus of the defense. Shula's NFL genetics are about as elite as you can hope for, as he is the grandson of NFL legendary HC Don Shula, the only NFL head coach to lead a team, in this case the Miami Dolphins, to a perfect season.

While Shula's future will likely lead to a head coaching job, his immediate focus was adding teeth and fangs to the Rams defense. Over the course of two seasons, the Rams parted ways with OLB Leonard Floyd, run stuffing DLs A'Shawn Robinson and Greg Gaines, All-Pros DT Aaron Donald, LB Bobby Wagner, and DB Jalen Ramsey. So the primary focus for the 2024 defense was to reestablish a formidable pass rush and lock down the back end of the secondary with talented safeties.

He managed to get the safeties upgraded with a keen eye for talented pass coverage but with a unique spin of skullduggery. In essence, he directed the Rams' front office to emphasize pass coverage, but with the ability to create turnovers. The Rams' secondary retained formerly drafted safety Quentin Lake, while adding at least three new safeties to the mix:

• Kamren Curl | Year 5 | 16 starts | 79 tackles | 55.6% comp | 9 PD | 0 Int
• Kamren Kinchen | Rookie | 4 starts | 57 tackles | 73.2% comp | 6 PD | 4 Int | 1 TD
• Quentin Lake | Year 3 | 16 starts | 111 tackles | 65.1% comp | 5 PD | 0 Int
• Jaylen McCollough | Rookie | 1 start | 43 tackles | 64.0 % comp | 4 PD | 4 Int | 1 TD

In 2024, the Rams' secondary boasted safeties Quentin Lake, Kamren Curl, Kamren Kinchens, and Jaylen McCollough. The unit was so talented that the season-long absence of veteran safety John Johnson III did not have an adverse impact. Perhaps more importantly, the Rams' secondary became an offensive weapon for the team. Not only did the Rams defense record a rare safety, and a fumble recovery for a touchdown, but both rookie safeties Kamren Kinchens and Jaylen McCollough added pick-sixes respectively.

Two safeties suiting up for just 849 defensive snaps accounted for eight interceptions in 2024. That is phenomenally effective. Now, what can the Rams Defensive Coordinator do for an encore?

Oomph inbound to the Rams cornerbacks

While the return of veteran cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon to the Rams secondary eliminates any urgent need by the team to select a cornerback early in the 2025 NFL Draft, I am not ruling it out. The team enjoyed remarkable success with new additions to the secondary at the safety position. So what is stopping the team from leveraging that success to attempt a similar retooling for the cornerback position?

The team already boasts 10 cornerbacks on the roster. Not only are CBs Cobie Durant, Darious Williams, and Ahkello Witherspoon back to compete for starting roles, but the team welcomes back Derion Kendrick from injured reserve, and late-season addition Emmanuel Forbes to his first Rams training camp. Rounding out the Rams roster so far are:

• A.J. Green | Year 4 | 6-foot-2 | 198 pounds
• Shaun Jolly | Year 4 | 5-foot-9 | 186 pounds
• Cam Lampkin | Year 2 | 5-foot-11 | 176 pounds
• Josh Wallace | Year 2 | 6-foot-0 | 189 pounds
• Charles Woods | Year 2 | 5-foot-11 | 185 pounds

The challenge for the Rams front office this year is upgrading the quality of cornerbacks on the roster with only a minimal number of new faces. While there is always the chance that things will 'click' for a returning player to the point where there 2025 performance is significantly better than what we've seen in the past, the team cannot trust that as the only means to a better secondary.

The Rams have not dipped often into recent NFL drafts for cornerbacks. Is this the year to do so? The only position specifically named as a target for the team is the quarterback position. But the Rams are not in the habit of announcing their intentions before the draft. That simply means that the Rams have enough built-in flexibility heading into the draft to choose a cornerback (or two).

The team carpet bombed the safety position in 2024, which ultimately led to the release of 2023 starter Russ Yeast. The Rams could deploy the same strategy this season, which could usher in parting ways with some of the team's 2024 starters at the cornerback position.

Look for more thumbprints on the defense from DC Chris Shula. I expect that he would love to saturate the cornerback room with big physical players. Perhaps he will find more contributors in this year's draft.

As always, thanks for reading.

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