With stars across most positions set, the Los Angeles Rams went into the 2022 NFL Draft looking to build depth.
One area of need was the secondary after they lost key contributors in Darious Williams and Eric Weddle. The Rams managed to trade for Troy Hill on Day 2, but they still ended up spending four of their eight picks on defensive backs.
On Day 3, Los Angeles took a shot on Derion Kendrick, who was a part of a stifling Georgia defense. Kendrick brings a certain edge on the field and admitted he is excited to learn from Jalen Ramsey, via Stu Jackson of TheRams.com:
“That’s one guy that I look at every day, just model my game after, just because of his attitude, swagger, aggressiveness, always gotta get to the ball,” Kendrick said. “It’s going to be great playing with guys like that. It’s going to motivate you to make sure you get to the top.”
Aside from Ramsey, Kendrick will also be sharing the field with stars like Aaron Donald and Bobby Wagner and he outlined what that is going to mean for his development:
“What it means to me is, you’ve got guys that’s gonna lay the foundation,” Kendrick said during a video conference with local media Monday. “They know what it’s like to reach that level, and I’m sure they want to reach it again. So I just want to sit behind them, take it all in, take all the notes that I need to, get all the reps that I need to, whether it’s workouts, film, whatever it may be. Just follow behind them guys until I’m in their shoes.”
For a rookie like Kendrick, landing with the Rams is perhaps the best-case scenario given the collective talent and championship experience on the roster. It remains to be seen what kind of role the rookie will have in his first year, but it is good to know he has great mentors to build him up.
