How effective will the Rams Kams be in the refurbished secondary in 2024?
By Bret Stuter
Kamren Curl is a headsy hard-hitter for the secondary
What stands out most about Kamren Curl is the fact that he loves to tackle. He doesn't back down from any contact, and loves to get to the ball carrier, wrap them up, and bring them down to the ground. And he is very good at it. In the past four seasons, he has accounted for 385 tackles. Over that same period, he has missed 35 tackles, which works out to missing 8.3 percent of the possible tackles. But let's examine the Rams safeties in terms of missed tackles:
Name | Last Year w Rams | # seasons | # Tackles | # Missed Tackles | Missed Tackles % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Russ Yeast | 2024 | 2 | 81 | 18 | 19.2% |
Quentin Lake | 2024 | 2 | 63 | 4 | 6.0% |
John Johnson III | 2024 | 7 | 554 | 45 | 7.5% |
Jordan Fuller | 2023 | 4 | 279 | 24 | 7.9% |
Taylor Rapp | 2022 | 5 | 380 | 27 | 6.6% |
Nick Scott | 2022 | 5 | 214 | 20 | 8.5% |
Eric Weddle | 2021 | 14 | 1179/ (176)* | (17)* | 8.8% |
Kamren Curl | 2024 | 4 | 385 | 35 | 8.5% |
Kamren Kinchens | 2024 | N/A |
* indicates missed tackle data only available for 2018-19 seasons
So why get excited about a guy whose missed tackles bump on the high end of the range of past safeties? Well, note his number of tackles. This guy averages more than 96 tackles per season. Not even John Johnson III can boast that level of production. And that is what makes Curl so intriguing for the 2024 NFL season.
He has the audacity of an inside linebacker, fully prepared to meet and stop running backs in the hole as they try to rade for daylight. But he has the coverage skills of a defensive back. Over four seasons in the Washington Commanders secondary, Curl has allowed 136 of 197 passes to find their mark, a completion rate of just 69 percent. While he has allowed nine touchdowns over the past four seasons, he has also managed to pick off three interceptions. And he had managed to get a hand in and break up 14 passes.
Curl is a rocket sled when he is in the box. He moves through congested traffic of banging big bodies as though he is a hockey player on skates. His sensory perception of who has the football and where they will appear is driven by Kreskin's ESP. And when he greets the running back, his how-do-you-do is so impactful that is frequently drops them like a sack of dirt.