The Rams were selective in the defensive moves they made over the offseason, but no one improved more than they did on that side of the ball thanks to the two additions they made at cornerback.
Trading for Chiefs Pro Bowler Trent McDuffie, then signing his teammate, Jaylen Watson, in free agency completely changed the face of the Rams defense.
Outside of that, they were relatively quiet in both free agency and the 2026 NFL Draft on defense. This isn’t necessarily a surprise, as they are loaded with young talent at almost every position. But as far as noise goes, they couldn’t have been any louder in improving their backroom, which was their biggest weakness last season.
Here’s a look at the defensive depth chart position, free agency and the draft:
Defensive line
Appetizers: DE Braden Fisk, NT Bona Ford, DT Coby Turner
Reserves: Ty Hamilton, Jackson Moye, Jalen Logan Redding, Tyler Davis, Tim Keenan III, Bill Norton, Larrell Murchison, Payton Zdruik
The skinny one: The Rams have done a solid job of building an effective defensive line over the past few years, which has not left them with any major needs in that area. They added Keenan as a late-round reinforcement, and he’ll have a chance to earn a spot in the rotation, but the Rams were hired here mainly thanks to the work they’ve put in over the years.
Bottom line: The Rams were excellent against the run last year, and they start on offense. In terms of the long term, Fisk and Ford are under contract through the 2027 season, but Turner’s contract is expiring, so a decision must be made about his long-term future.
The linebacker
Appetizers: Byron Young, Jared Fierce, Nate Landman, Omar Speights
Reserves: Josiah Stewart, Grant Stuard, Sean Dulac, Elias Neal, Dejuan Johnson, Kerr Thomas II, Eddie Walls III, Nikai Hill-Green, Wesley Bailey, Darrell Peterson III
The skinny one: According to Pro Football Focus, only three forwards had a top-15 grade in both pass rushing and defense last year. One of them was Young, who broke out in 2025 with career highs in sacks (12) and 82 tackles. The other two are Myles Garrett and Will Anderson.
That points to Young’s emergence as a force off the edge and why he’s poised to get a big payday on his new contract extension. But for the Rams’ defense to take another step forward, especially in the closing games, they need Ferris to have a similar emergence in his third season. Verse is an elite player, but needs to be more consistent in terms of great reps and average reps. It is very good for the high to low fluctuations it sometimes experiences. If that happens, the Rams will field one of the most lethal passing tandems in the NFL.
Bottom line: The Rams have one of the best punches from the rim in Young and Verse, and there is an absolute ceiling for improvement. As far as the interior midfielders are concerned, they have undergone an upgrade at that position, with the hope that Speights and Landman can continue to provide useful play. We expect them to address this area moving forward.
Back corner
Appetizers: Trent McDuffie, Jaylen Watson, Quentin Lake
Reserves: Emmanuel Forbes Jr., Cam Lumpkin, Josh Wallace, Alex Johnson, Dre Norwood, Alzion Hamilton, Nezer Forkyoren
The skinny one: Cornerback became a liability for the Rams last year, and they prioritized the position this offseason. It’s hard to imagine them handling this task any better than they did in trading for McDuffie and then signing Watson in free agency. In the blink of an eye, weakness became strength. To put that into perspective, if this cornerback tandem had been around last year, the Rams likely would have played in the Super Bowl.
Bottom line: With Lake dominating the slot backfield, and McDuffie and Watson on the perimeter, the Rams are as strong as they have been in years at the top three cornerback spots. Lampkin and Wallace provide solid depth. The Rams have been set to be here for a while, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if they added another veteran depth piece.
safety
Appetizers: Camryn Kinchens, Cam Curl
Reserves: Jaylen McCullough, Nate Valcarcel, Tanner Engel, Nick Andersen
The skinny one: The Rams have been essentially non-tackle at safety this season, a clear sign that they’ve been encouraged by the young talent they’ve assembled. Also keep in mind that with McDuffie, a do-it-all corner who is able to line up in the slot, it means Lake could be deployed at his natural safety position from time to time.
Bottom line: The work the Rams have done at cornerback has improved all phases of their defense, including the back end at safety, a position they already felt good about.