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- After the Seattle Seahawks shredded them in the NFC title game, the Rams responded by overhauling the secondary, trading for All-Pro Trent McDuffie and signing former Chiefs teammate Jaylen Watson.
- Supported by contract extensions for safeties Quentin Lake and Kam Curl, the revamped defensive backfield has turned into a tone-setting strength.
Blockbuster trades and high-profile free-agent signings have been Rams trademarks during the Sean McVay era, but success also has been built on more subtle transactions.
After the Seattle Seahawks exposed the secondary — and especially cornerbacks — in the Rams’ NFC championship game defeat last season, McVay and Rams general manager Les Snead took steps to upgrade a unit they left unchanged from 2024.
Last March, a few days after trading for All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie, they signed McDuffie’s former Kansas City Chiefs teammate, cornerback Jaylen Watson.
The moves turned the Rams’ weakest link into one of their strongest.
“Rare opportunities presented themselves to be able to get both Trent and Jaylen,” McVay said Sunday. “I didn’t think that would be a situation that we would be able to pull off, just based on kind of how we had that spot slotted.”
The acquisitions of McDuffie and Watson completed an overhaul of the secondary that began by keeping an important piece in place: safety Quentin Lake received an extension in January that included $25 million in guarantees. In March, the team agreed to terms with safety Kam Curl on an extension that includes $24 million in guarantees.
Then came the major move: The Rams traded the 29th pick in the draft and three future draft picks for McDuffie, and then signed him to a then-record contract that includes $100 million in guarantees.
Jimmy Lake, who replaced Aubrey Pleasant as the Rams’ defensive backs coach, recruited McDuffie when he played at St. John Bosco High. Lake coached McDuffie at the University of Washington.
And he watched McDuffie become an All-Pro and two-time Super Bowl champion with the Chiefs.
So when McVay pulled Jimmy Lake aside and told him that the Rams were trading for McDuffie, Lake said he was nearly stunned.
And thrilled.
“I was like, ‘Wow,’” Lake said. “We just got a dawg.”
A few days later they signed Watson to a deal that includes $34 million in guarantees.
“Once they got Trent, I was like, ‘He got two cornerbacks money, so they’re probably not going to get another one,’” Watson said. “So I thought I was going to go back to the Chiefs. But it ended up working out. When they called I was excited.”
So was Curl.
“It was like rumors of it being an emphasis,” Curl said of the Rams remaking the secondary. “But then they showed it was true.”
Now, as the Rams prepare for their season opener against the San Francisco 49ers in Melbourne, the secondary is regarded as a pillar for a team that also traded for defensive end Myles Garrett and welcomed back legendary lineman Aaron Donald from a two-year retirement.
“Just so many different looks we can give teams,” Watson said of a secondary that also includes cornerbacks Emmanuel Forbes Jr. and Josh Wallace and safeties Kam Kinchens and Jaylen McCollough. “You’re not going to know who’s where because we can move so many different people around.
Watch out ’72 Dolphins. A Rams team loaded with star talent not only will win the Super Bowl, but they’ll become the first NFL team to go 20-0.
“It’s a fun defense to watch. I enjoy watching it as much as I enjoy playing in it.”
Quentin Lake said he anticipated changes after the Rams lost to the Seahawks, who won the Super Bowl with a talented secondary led by All-Pro cornerback Devon Witherspoon.
Lake pointed to the Rams’ 2021 team that won Super Bowl LVI with lockdown defensive back Jalen Ramsey paired with a dominating Donald.
“You’re able to dictate the terms up front and also shut one side down on the field,” Lake said.
The Rams now deploy McDuffie with Garrett and Donald.
McDuffie is happy to be back in Southern California and has easily melded into the Rams’ culture.
After an offseason of blockbuster trades and Aaron Donald’s return, the Rams enter the season as overwhelming favorites to win another title at SoFi Stadium.
“I wasn’t trying to come in here and say, ‘We need to go this way or that way,’ or things I try to say over in Kansas City,’” he said during training camp. “Nah, it’s a clean slate. Let’s come in, let’s build with each other.”
The defensive backs bonded on the field before and during practices and while playing card games in their dorm rooms during camp.
McDuffie’s attitude and skill set, and the toughness and “swag” that Watson plays with are palpable, Jimmy Lake said.
“We definitely feel the extra surge of attitude and awareness,” he said. “That’s infectious throughout the whole secondary, and the whole defense.”
