Josh Wallace is the weapon in Rams' secondary no one is accounting for

On the heels of a disastrous season, the Los Angeles Rams' secondary enters a cautiously optimistic new chapter. The future of third-year cornerback Josh Wallace is very similar. Almost all of his 2025 teammates at the position are gone. In their place, Los Angeles has added Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson to handle CB1 and CB2 duties.

That leaves Wallace and Emmanuel Forbes Jr. as the main returning contributors. Perhaps surprisingly, it's the 6-foot, 190-pound Wallace who is especially promising.

His steadily increasing workload after signing with the Rams as an undrafted rookie in 2024 coincides with his ever-improving performance on the football field. Recognizing his under-the-radar potential, Los Angeles gave the former undrafted free agent a $60,000 bonus just to join the team.

In a rotational capacity the past two seasons, Wallace allowed just 24 of 38 passes to find their mark. He recorded one interception, allowed one touchdown, and broke up five passes. He also drastically improved his tackling in 2025, dropping his missed-tackle rate from over 23 percent to just 4.8 percent last year.

Josh Wallace will fill vital role in Rams secondary this season

Wallace will fill a vital function as the new-look secondary takes shape. Returning for his third season with the team gives him the benefit of continuity, something even McDuffie and Watson can't claim. After impressing in the role in '25, Wallace projects to be Quentin Lake's primary backup as a slot corner.

The young defensive back has a golden opportunity to shine this season. In a thinned-out DB room, Wallace no longer faces competition from Cobie Durant, Ahkello Witherspoon, Darious Williams, Roger McCreary, and Derion Kendrick. That means more attention, more reps, and very likely, more opportunities.

Wallace is a frontrunner to secure a roster spot behind the starters. Not limited to the slot, he is versatile enough to slide all over the secondary. He has shown dramatic improvement in just two NFL seasons. It only helps his cause that he has multiple years' experience in the system.

Wallace needn't be a starter to be a valuable contributor. Even with the arrival of two elite playmakers there is still plenty of slack to take up, and he has shown he can increase his workload with positive results. As defensive coordinator Chris Shula leads this group to new heights, he'll count on Wallace to help get him there.

As always, thanks for reading.

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