The Los Angeles Rams addressed their biggest need of the offseason by acquiring two-time All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie from the Kansas City Chiefs in exchange for four draft picks.
McDuffie, a Southern California native, already has a few connections to the Rams as he was college teammates with Puka Nacua at the University of Washington from 2019-20.
Nacua immediately took to social media to celebrate the reunion between the two and was the first player to call McDuffie after his trade to the Rams.
During an interview with ESPN Los Angeles, McDuffie said he is looking forward to one-on-one drills with Nacua in training camp:
“I told him he better be ready for practice because that’s going to be some of the best competition we’re going to have, is one-on-ones, me and Puka, just like we did in college. I mean, we were going against each other all day, every day. I’m sure he’s going to win some, but I’m definitely going to go out there and win some, too.”
Nacua has quickly developed into one of the NFL’s best wide receivers since being drafted by the Rams in 2023, which doesn’t come as any surprise to McDuffie, who knew he was destined for greatness from the first time he met him:
“I knew. The second he was on campus, first practice, he was a dog. If you go look at his high school highlights, still one of the craziest high school highlights I’ve seen. Freshman year, we were in the dorms together, we were practicing together. I knew he was going to do something great. I was sad to see him leave [Washington], I was really disappointed. But he went to BYU, balled out, and now he’s here.”
McDuffie and Nacua will frequently line up across each other when the Rams take the field for training camp later this summer, and the battles between the two should be fun to watch for football fans everywhere.
Jaylen Watson discusses how he & Trent McDuffie complement each other
The Rams also addressed their secondary by signing McDuffie’s former Chiefs teammate, Jaylen Watson, to a three-year, $51 million contract.
The two spent the last four seasons together, which included winning two Super Bowls, and now will look to help deliver another championship to L.A.
Watson noted that he and McDuffie have different play styles, which should help the Rams match up against other teams’ wide receivers in 2026.
At 6’2″, Watson is a physical corner who typically lines up on the outside and guards wide receivers with a similar frame. McDuffie, at 5’11”, can play all over the secondary and matches up well against speedy wide receivers.
