The Los Angeles Rams’ 2019 season did not go as planned as despite coming off a season in which they went to the Super Bowl, they failed to make the playoffs after finishing 9-7.
A big reason for that was not only regression from some of the team’s biggest stars, but also a lack of production from young players on the team either due to injury or poor play.
One rookie that was lucky enough to see some playing time was Nick Scott. The defensive back finished the season playing all 16 games and 80% of snaps on the special teams unit. After his first year, Scott was surprised at how much fun he ended up having, via Sarina Morales of TheRams.com:
“I guess I didn’t know how fun it was. It was a lot of fun. You are trying to learn everything. You’re trying to learn where your locker is. You’re trying to learn where a meeting room is. You’re trying to learn what to learn in the meeting room. You’re trying to figure out what position you’re going to play. Strong safety? Free safety? You try and figure out how do I get on special teams so I can go to camp. You’re trying to figure out everything. What veterans can I talk to? Which ones should I just leave alone? You know what I’m saying? This is high stress.”
Scott’s position has changed quite a bit over the course of his collegiate and professional career. In his freshman year at Penn State, he was one of the team’s running backs. His sophomore year he switched to cornerback and ended up finishing his final two years as a safety.
Although he saw limited time with the Rams’ defensive unit, he is already looking forward to perfecting his skills as a defensive back:
“I’m just working out, watching a lot of film. I would say for me, this year, I’m really trying to hone in or fine tune my craft as a DB. Just because it’s really only my third year being a defensive back. I came in as a running back, so I got the athlete part covered. I can run, I can flip my head, but in terms of fine-tuning and being the best defensive back I can be in terms of technique… [I’m]trying to accelerate that process a little bit. And I’ve had a lot of help this year with [Aubrey Pleasant] and Coach [Evero].”
Hopefully, his range of skills across many positions can help him become an elite defensive player. With the loss of Eric Weddle to retirement and John Johnson III coming back from a season-ending injury, the Rams certainly can use some depth in their secondary.
