the 2019 defense & why it looks so promising & so deep

How the Rams’ cornerback depth could create difficult roster decisions

Vincent Bonsignore

https://theathletic.com/1139238/2019/08/14/difficult-choices-how-could-the-rams-cornerback-depth-chart-play-out-before-the-season/?=twittered

HONOLULU – With more than two weeks of training camp in the books, it’s becoming clearer by the day the Rams have created some enviable depth at cornerback.

In fact, with Kevin Peterson returning from a knee injury, adding David Long in the third round of the draft, retaining Troy Hill on a two-year deal and the improvements of Donte Deayon, Darious Williams, Dominique Hatfield and Ramon Richards, the Rams’ cornerback population has taken a decided leap forward.

And that doesn’t take into account starters Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib and valuable slot corner Nickell Robey-Coleman.

It’s a crowded room, to say the least. And with four roster spots essentially already accounted for with Peters, Talib, Robey-Coleman and Hill, it creates a major battle among the remaining candidates to win jobs on the 53-man roster.

“I think it’s a positive problem for us with the depth that we do have,” Rams coach Sean McVay said.

Complicating matters, somewhat, is the long-term status of Peters and Talib, as each is entering the last year of his contracts. Knowing there is a possibility they might lose one or both of their current starting cornerbacks, would the Rams keep an extra cornerback this year (compared to past seasons) in order to preserve control of a player they believe can help them down the line?

Recent history suggests Rams general manager Les Snead will keep the big picture in mind when constructing his roster. If he deems one of the young cornerbacks worthy of future consideration, don’t be surprised if he finds the necessary room even if the chances of playing time this year are slim.

In the Rams’ perfect world, they win the Super Bowl and bring back the majority of this year’s roster – Peters and Talib included. But that’s a lot of cards to perfectly turn over between now and next March. Given the harsh salary-cap restrictions, contract expectations and competing with 31 other teams on the open market, that doesn’t appear feasible.

No matter what happens on the field this year, chances are the Rams might need to replace one or two starting cornerbacks next season.

Whether that reality plays into the roster decisions they make over the next three weeks remains to be seen. For now, they welcome the difficult choices they’ll have to make, as they speak to the overall depth they’ve created.

Here is a closer look at that position, and the players involved.

The Locks
Marcus Peters

It was obvious from the start of training camp that Peters was prepared to continue the strides he made over the second half of last season, which put him in position to earn a long-term contract. He reported to camp in astounding shape and has played fast, smart and effectively throughout.

It was a weird first year for Peters in 2018, especially during his well-chronicled struggles over the first half of the season. What stood out, though, was his accountability. He never blamed a calf injury he suffered in Week 3 or the fact that the Rams essentially were misusing him for the struggles he incurred.

“I said during the season, I put him in situations we shouldn’t have,” Rams defensive coordinator Wade Phillips said.

As the year progressed, the injury healed and Phillips began utilizing Peters in more zone coverage looks. That allowed Peters to keep the play in front of him, enabling him to use the watchful eye he keeps on the quarterback, rather than losing sight by having to turn and run with receivers. Because of this, Peters became a much more dependable player.

“Now, we got him playing with more help in some situations, so he can take more chances,” is how Phillips explained it. “He knows when to and when not to”

It’s carried over into camp.

“He’s been locked in, he’s been engaged,” McVay said.

Peters is set up for a big year as a result. The question becomes: if he continues the upward trend as expected, what will that mean for the Rams in terms of bringing him back on a long-term deal?

Aqib Talib

Talib suffered an ankle injury in Week 3 that cost him eight weeks of last season, but when he was healthy he showed no signs of slowing down, and at 33 he still looks like he has a handful of good years ahead of him.

“Aqib Talib has been outstanding thus far,” McVay said.

Talib should continue to be a major asset for the Rams. But the salary cap eventually will rear its ugly head, and with difficult decision coming up and star players who need to be re-signed, It’s just hard to envision him sticking around beyond this season.

Nickell Robey-Coleman

Robey-Coleman has quietly and steadily become a valuable piece for the Rams as a slot cornerback in nickel and dime packages, and as last year showed, as he enters the prime of his career he’s playing as well as he ever has. He is under contract through the 2020 season.

Troy Hill

Hill sometimes gets a bad rap from internet folks – mostly on social media – who fret over his occasional mistake. Hill certainly is not a Pro Bowl-caliber player, but he’s added great value over the years as a dependable reserve who, when called upon, can hold down the fort as a starter. When you’re talking about the fourth guy on the pecking order, that’s exactly what you need.

The Rams understood, which is why they rewarded him with a new contract.

It isn’t easy being an NFL cornerback – and Hill has had his rough moments – but on balance he’s been much more of an asset to the Rams than a liability. He’s also a very good special-teams player, and that’s important.

The rookie
David Long

The Rams drafted Long in the third round out of Michigan last April and the profile he brings, as a rugged man-to-man cover corner, fits perfectly in Phillips’ 3-4 scheme. That said, it’s a major transition going from the Big Ten to the NFL, and Long is presently dealing with that learning curve.

Nothing has happened in camp or the first preseason game to suggest Long won’t eventually complete the process and develop into a productive player, and history has shown the light can completely turn on at any moment. Long has all the physical skills necessary to be a quality cornerback, and his roster spot is essentially set given the draft investment in him. As far as regular-season playing time goes, Long likely faces a bit of a climb given the talent in front of him and the improvements of some veterans. The Rams will be patient with him, as the upside absolutely is there.

Making a move
Darious Williams

Every time you look up at training camp, it seems Williams is doing something positive. Of all the Rams’ young cornerbacks, he’s probably been the steadiest player thus far and, as a result, the biggest surprise.

The Rams claimed Williams off waivers from the Baltimore Ravens last October and he played in one game. With little opportunity to show what he could do on the field, Williams made the Rams take notice during practice as a scout-team standout.

“You could really feel what a talented player he is,” McVay said.

That’s carried over in training camp.

Said McVay: “Now that he’s able to have some continuity in the system, really learn some of the intricacies of what (cornerbacks) coach (Aubrey) Pleasant and (safeties) coach (Ejiro) Evero are coaching in that room and being able to learn from the vets, I think his play and his confidence have really shown up.”

There is no doubt Williams is putting himself in a great position to earn a job.

Kevin Peterson

A knee injury during the preseason last year cost Peterson all of 2018, which is unfortunate because he was pushing hard for a roster spot. He’s returned completely healthy and, like Williams, has really opened eyes thus far, including the interception he came up with during the preseason opener against the Oakland Raiders. The position is loaded, but Peterson is again making a strong case for himself.

Where does that leave …
Donte Deayon, Dominique Hatfield and Ramon Richards

Deayon’s ability to play slot corner and traditional corner could help his chances, as versatility becomes paramount at this level of the depth chart. Hatfield is primarily a slot corner, and with no clear-cut backup for Robey-Coleman he remains under strong consideration. But other players have certainly stepped up, and that could cost him. Richards, who spent all of last season on the practice squad, is an intriguing prospect but on this team he could get squeezed out

A rookie linebacker moved outside, and perhaps up the Rams’ depth chart, in Hawaii

By Vincent Bonsignore

https://theathletic.com/1144990/2019/08/18/a-rookie-linebacker-moved-outside-and-perhaps-up-the-rams-depth-chart-in-hawaii/?=twittered

HONOLULU — Life moves pretty fast in the NFL, and it’s never been known to sit around and wait on anyone. You either maintain pace or you get lapped. Adapt or get shown the door.

It’s not a particularly forgiving or understanding system.

So when Rams coaches approached rookie undrafted free agent Natrez Patrick recently about moving from inside linebacker to outside linebacker, he instinctively knew it wasn’t really a request; it was an iron-clad decision. They weren’t asking him. They were pretty much telling him.

“I was willing to do whatever they asked me to do,” Patrick said Saturday after a solid all-around performance in the Rams’ 14-10 loss to the Dallas Cowboys at Aloha Stadium, a game in which he recorded three tackles and combined on a sack.

Injuries to backup candidates Justin Lawler and Trevon Young, and Ogbonnia Okoronkwo’s nagging hamstring injury, depleted some of the depth at edge rusher. With the Rams intent on resting their key defensive players in the preseason and on the lookout for reserve help, they decided to slide Patrick to the outside.

Of course, they gave him the respect of sitting him down and talking it over. Not that he really needed to be convinced that it was in his best interest to accept the assignment. As a young player trying to work his way up from the bottom of the roster, just trying to get noticed enough to force the decision-makers to think long and hard about keeping him around when cut-down day arrives, he understood his lack of leverage.

So it didn’t take long, once the coaches described the plan, before Patrick had a simple response: “I’m in,” he basically told them.

Saturday’s game marked the second consecutive week the Rams’ young linebacker has made his presence felt in a preseason game, after last week’s four-tackle game against the Oakland Raiders. Only this time, he did the bulk of his damage at a new position, having made the move to start at outside linebacker on Saturday.

Patrick is new to the position, but he looked comfortable creating pressure off the edge, dropping back in pass coverage and nimbly getting around the field in run support.

“Natrez has done a nice job,” Rams coach Sean McVay said. “Really, we just transitioned him to outside linebacker a couple of weeks ago almost by necessity, as a result of Justin Lawler’s injury and ‘T-Young’ being banged up. He’s really done a good job. I think (outside linebackers coach) Chris Shula’s been outstanding, in terms of helping him develop and progress quickly.”

Said Patrick: “They just came and told me the plan and honestly, I just handled it and adapted. … You have to be adaptable at this level. And I just rolled with it.”

Based purely on skill — it’s been obvious, watching him in games and in practice, that he has a great feel for the game and an instinctive and explosive element in how he reads situations and accelerates to action — Patrick probably should have heard his name called during the draft last April.

But issues off the field — mostly self-inflicted — pretty much guaranteed Patrick would have to fight his way onto a roster as a free agent. A former highly ranked recruit out of Atlanta, Patrick chose Georgia over scholarship offers from Alabama, Clemson, Auburn and Florida. It was a pretty exclusive list, and it speaks to his level of talent.

He backed that up by earning a starting role as a freshman, and at that point it looked like he was on his way.

But three arrests for marijuana possession over the next three years and a failed drug test while on probation resulted in a stint in rehab and in Patrick having to watch Georgia play in the national championship game in Jan. 2018 from the sideline.

What it didn’t mean, thankfully for him, was expulsion from the football team. Georgia coach Kirby Smart never gave up hope that Patrick could find the necessary help and balance to keep his life in order, so rather than kick him out of the program he threw him a life preserver.

Patrick returned as a senior for the 2018 season as a leader and a productive player, and while he recorded 44 tackles (including 4.5 for loss), that wasn’t enough for the NFL to invest a draft pick in him. He’d get his chance, for sure, but he’d have to do it the hard way.

Patrick completely understood. The draft came and went without his name being called. And he never once felt sorry for himself.

Quite the opposite.

“For me, given everything I’ve been through, it was a blessing just to still be in that conversation,” Patrick said. “So there was no disappointment. In fact, I just feel blessed.”

Two weeks into the preseason, Patrick has seized the opportunity. McVay puts a lot of emphasis on game tape, believing there are certain aspects of football that simply can not be simulated. And he’s using these preseason games to monitor who can translate practice work into game production. Those who do begin to separate themselves from the pack.

Patrick is doing just that. And now that he’s shown he can play inside and outside, he’s forced his way into a possible roster spot.

That’s an incredible amount of progress for someone who was in a treatment center less than two years ago, wondering what his college football future held.

“It’s a great feeling just to come in here, undrafted as I was, and have this opportunity,” Patrick said. “I’m just trying to take advantage of every opportunity I get. So it’s a great feeling to be able to put good things on film.”

‘Obo’ on the field

Rams outside linebacker Ogbonnia Okoronkwo hadn’t played a game since Jan. 1, 2018, in the Rose Bowl for the Oklahoma Sooners.

Things got pretty weird after that for the Rams’ 2018 fifth-round pick. A broken foot in OTAs cost him all of his rookie year and a nagging quad injury has limited him during training camp this year and kept him out of last week’s preseason opener.

In fact, counting last year’s games and this preseason, 24 Rams games passed with Okoronkwo watching from the sidelines. It was highly frustrating for Okoronkwo and the Rams and even their fans, who were eager to see what the athletic edge rusher could bring to the table.

His day finally arrived Saturday, and he didn’t disappoint.

It was only the preseason, but Okoronkwo displayed explosion and pass-rush ability in his first action with the Rams. He got pressure on the quarterback — and even drew a holding call — showed skill in some stunt calls and even got his hand up to knock down a pass at the line of scrimmage.

It was pretty much everything he and the Rams could have expected after a long absence.

“It felt amazing,” Okoronkwo said afterward. “It’s been a long time coming…just had some bad luck with injuries but so thankful to (trainer) Reggie (Scott) and the rest of the training staff. They do such a great job. They were patient with me. The coaches kept telling me to keep my spirits up. We have a great support system here. It’s a family here and they just kept me into it and every day I just kept on doing what I had to be doing. And I finally got a chance. I had a lot of fun.”

Said McVay: “You see some of the flashes of why we liked him so much, why he was such a productive player at Oklahoma. He drew a couple of holdings tonight and made his presence felt.”

It was a stepping stone for Okoronkwo, who is trying to create a role for himself as a situational pass rusher. The Rams’ starting outside linebacker rotation consists of Dante Fowler Jr., Clay Matthews and Samson Ebukam, but there are supporting roles to be earned.

Okoronkwo, with his ability to potentially bring heat, certainly can create a niche for himself with some more solid outings.

“I’m just grateful to be sitting here today,” he said. “I felt good. It was fun. It was fast, it’s been a while. But I had a ton of fun. It was cool getting back up to speed with everything. And all my teammates were happy with everything, kept my spirits up, encouraging me. Today was great.”