With the secondary featuring plenty of young and unproven talent, the Los Angeles Rams are hoping some of their returners can fill in the void left by Jalen Ramsey and Troy Hill.
The Rams made the difficult decision to trade away Ramsey to the Miami Dolphins, while also opting to let Hill walk in free agency. In their stead lie second-year defensive backs Cobie Durant and Derion Kendrick, who got some snaps in 2022 but now have sizable roles waiting in front of them.
Durant and Kendrick both flashed what they could do throughout the year, though as rookies there were things that needed to be ironed out. However, so far the duo has been hard at work during the offseason preparing for the 2023 campaign and their efforts haven’t gone unnoticed as Sean McVay had high praise for them in an episode of ‘Behind The Grind’:
“I’ve seen tremendous strides from DK and from Cobie Durant when you’re talking about the corner position,” McVay said.
Durant was active for 13 games, though he played sparingly and even missed some time due to injury. However, he showed the fans why the Rams were so high on him in the draft as he managed to intercept three passes and run them back for 151 total yards. His ballhawking ability and reactionary speed are two useful traits that will serve him well when covering opponents either on the outside or inside.
As for Kendrick, he managed to start six of the 15 games he was active but suffered more of a learning curve as there were several instances of him getting burned by a receiver for his over-aggressive play style. Still, Kendrick displayed how fiery of a competitor he can be and that mentality is what the coaching staff looks for from their defensive backs.
With a full offseason and training camp under their belts, there’s reason to believe that both Durant and Kendrick can step into larger roles and produce at a high level for a Rams team that needs contributions from players sooner rather than later.
Rams sign Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson to rookie contract
Aside from Durant and Kendrick, Los Angeles could be banking on sixth-round draft pick Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson. Hodges-Tomlinson was one of college’s best cornerbacks last season but fell in the draft due to his size at the position.
However, the Rams didn’t think his physical limitations were a hindrance and thus signed him to his rookie-scale contract.
