Rams may have reached agreement on the perfect Trent McDuffie pairing

The Los Angeles Rams learned something special about keeping former teammates together. When the team drafted both outside linebacker Jared Verse and defensive tackle Braden Fiske from the same Florida State defense, the duo ran roughshod against offenses. That surprised everyone, considering they were only rookies.

So why not go back to the same well of wisdom in 2026? After general manager Les Snead pried All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie from the Kansas City Chiefs, the team has reached an agreement to sign his teammate, cornerback Jaylen Watson, on a three-year deal.

Watson was the other starting cornerback in the Chiefs secondary. While McDuffie was the All-Pro, Watson offered respectable coverage as well. He deflected six passes, intercepted two, allowed just one touchdown, and limited opposing quarterbacks to a mere 62.5 completion rate.

Best of all, he only missed one tackle all season long.

Jaylen Watson is the ideal Rams free agent cornerback

Sometimes, the simplest strategy is the best. Keeping Jaylen Watson paired with Trent McDuffie ensures instant chemistry, communication, and cooperation between two cornerbacks who must be seen as pencilled-in starters in LA's secondary.

And the move allows the team to place returning cornerback Emmanuel Forbes Jr. in a role that best suits his skillset in any particular week. And with Watson joining McDuffie, the need to grab a top cornerback prospect has dropped out of the urgency category.

This will uproot both starting cornerbacks from Kansas City and transplant them to Los Angeles. The Chiefs averaged just 195.6 passing yards per game last season. That is a far cry better than LA's 216.7 passing yards. And with LA's safeties, there is every reason to expect even better results in 2026.

As Arrowhead Addicts expert Matt Conner writes:

Jaylen Watson has climbed the Chiefs' depth chart from a former seventh-round flyer providing rotational reps to an impact starter for a Super Bowl contender. He learned from L'Jarius Sneed and flourished when he left, providing a very physical boundary presence with real blitzing ability.

The Chiefs' draft-and-develop reputation is strong enough that they'll let him leave for a big payday, but the success of Charvarius Ward points the way toward future expectations here.

It certainly seems as though Los Angeles just upgraded its secondary in the first minutes of the 2026 NFL free agency market.

Stay tuned, as more is almost certainly coming around the corner.

As always, thanks for reading.