Although the Los Angeles Rams have experienced some turnover on defense this offseason, head coach Sean McVay knows cornerback Marcus Peters is set to play an integral role in the secondary in the 2019 NFL season.
The Rams made a bit of a splash last year with the acquisition of Peters, who had established himself as one of the most promising, young corners in the league during his time with the Kansas City Chiefs. Unfortunately, he struggled to find his footing in his debut season in Los Angeles.
While it may have taken him some time, Peters was finally able to make his presence felt late in the season and into the playoffs. McVay is hoping that they can continue to build on the significant improvement he had shown down the stretch.
According to Clarence Dennis of the team’s official website, McVay is hoping to make better use of Peters’ skillset moving forward:
“You see a guy with all the ability, I think our challenge as a coaching staff is to continue to suit our systems to our players’ skill sets,” McVay said. “And clearly this is a very productive player — great ball skills, great instincts and awareness — and I think when you really look at the makeup of not only our secondary, but our defense as a whole, that will enable us to continue to do some things that fit them and that’s the most important thing.”
There is no question that Peters has endured his fair share of struggles in Los Angeles thus far, however, it is encouraging to see that McVay and the coaching staff are not ready to give up on him just yet. They made quite the investment bringing him over and are doing their due diligence by finding ways to maximize his potential under defensive coordinator Wade Phillips.
McVay’s comments essentially fall in line with where Peters’ primary focus has been, which is returning to the Super Bowl. While there has been plenty of speculation regarding his looming deal, he is adamant that his attention is fixed on getting back to Pro Bowl form.
Not only is Peters much more familiar with the defense in Year 2, but he also has much more experienced players to rely on after the Rams added safety Eric Weddle and linebacker Clay Matthews this offseason. They also managed to shore up some depth after signing cornerback Troy Hill to a two-year extension.
