Los Angeles Rams cornerback Cobie Durant has been named NFC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 7, it was announced by the NFL on Wednesday.
This marks the first NFC Defensive Player of the Week honor of Durant’s career, and it was a well-deserving one.
Durant was everywhere during the Rams’ 20-15 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders to improve to 2-4 on the season.
He had his hands on two of the Rams’ four turnovers on the day, both of which led to points. In the second quarter, Durant had an interception on Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew, his first takeaway of the season.
Then just a few minutes later in the second quarter, Durant got home on a blitz and sacked Minshew, causing him to fumble the football. Fellow defensive back Kamren Curl was there to scoop it up and return it for a touchdown, giving the Rams all of the momentum they needed to come away with a much-needed win at SoFi Stadium.
Overall in the game, Durant finished with an interception, two total tackles, one sack, one quarterback hit, a forced fumble and two passes defensed.
In six games for the Rams this season, Durant has 17 total tackles and three passes defensed. He has provided the Rams defense with some versatility, being able to play both inside and outside in what has been his first season as a full-time starter.
While the Rams’ secondary struggled to start the year, they have shown signs of improvement in recent weeks. Given their lack of experience, it makes sense that they would get better as the season goes on and that is what seems to be happening.
Rams designate Puka Nacua to return from IR
One of the other bring young stars on the Rams is wide receiver Puka Nacua, although he was only able to play a handful of snaps in Week 1 before going down with a knee injury that has kept him out ever sense.
It appears a return is on the horizon for Nacua though as the Rams designated him to return from injured reserve, opening up his 21-day practice window. The Rams can activate him at any point during those 21 days so he will likely be back on the field in the next couple of weeks.
The Rams offense has struggled to begin the season but getting back a player of Nacua’s caliber, in addition to Cooper Kupp and some offensive linemen, will be a huge boost in the coming weeks.
