The Rams’ secondary has spent the first five weeks looking like a unit that refuses to be rattled, even while the injury list keeps changing the cast around it. Los Angeles has one of the NFL’s best pass defenses, and that’s held true despite the bumps. Only the Seattle Seahawks have allowed fewer passing yards through five games.
One of the clearest reasons is Josh Wallace. The undrafted cornerback has kept showing up whenever the Rams have needed him, and he’s not just surviving out there. Pro Football Focus has given Wallace a 63.4 grade after five games, a solid number for a player in Year 3 who has been asked to step into meaningful snaps.
Wallace even earned his third start of the year in Week 5, despite Jaylen Watson’s return from a shoulder injury that knocked him out after the first half against the Broncos and kept him out in Week 4 against Philadelphia. That’s the kind of spot that can shrink a young player’s role. Instead, Wallace kept his place in the rotation.
The numbers back up the eye test. Here’s where the Rams’ corners stand through five games:
Trent McDuffie | 21 targets | 7 receptions | 7 PDs | 1 INT vs 0 TD | 16 tackles | 1 missed tkls
Jaylen Watson | 17 targets | 9 receptions | 5 PDs | 0 INT vs 2 TD | 11 tackles | 2 missed tkls
Emmanuel Forbes | 5 targets | 2 receptions | 1 PD | 0 INT vs 1 TD | 3 tackles | 0 missed tkls
Josh Wallace | 10 targets | 5 receptions | 2 PDs | 1 INT vs 0 TD | 11 tackles | 1 missed Tkl
Those numbers tell the story of a secondary that has stayed productive no matter who’s on the field. McDuffie has been the heavy-duty piece, the guy opponents keep testing every week. That changed against the Bills, at least for one game, but he’s still been the workhorse.
Wallace has drawn his own share of attention, and he’s handled it well. Against Buffalo, with the Rams asked to deal with tight end Dalton Kincaid and receivers Keon Coleman and Khalil Shakir, the secondary was put through its toughest challenge yet.
The run defense cracked, but the back end held up. Wallace gave up just one seven-yard catch on two targets.
There’s also a contract angle worth watching. Wallace and Emmanuel Forbes are both playing out the final seasons of their current deals.
Forbes is set up to hit unrestricted free agency because of his past playing time, which could put him in line for a decent payday if he keeps producing. Wallace’s path is different: he’s on track to become a restricted free agent, giving the Rams the chance to extend a qualifying tender and keep the right of first refusal if another team makes a move.
For a defense built on keeping options open and rewarding the guys who earn it, Wallace is doing exactly what he needs to do. Right now, he looks like one of the players the Rams can trust to stick around.
In Other News...
Rams Face A Familiar Threat To Stafford And The Offense
The Rams next trip into the NFC West brings more than a divisional opponent. When they line up against the Cardinals, Sean McVay will be facing Mike LaFleur for the first time as a head coach on the other sideline, a familiar face from McVays own staff and part of a coaching tree that has shaped plenty of recent Rams football. The connection runs deeper than just one meeting, with McVay, LaFleur and Matt LaFleur all tied together through years of shared ideas and overlapping success, while Matthew Stafford has also had a front-row seat to how that family of coaches works.
For the Rams, the matchup is another reminder that the league keeps circling back to relationships as much as schemes. McVay has spoken highly of Mike LaFleurs impact, and Stafford has too, which makes this one feel a little different than a standard division game. Theres still the usual stake of a divisional test, but theres also the added layer of two coaches who know each other well and an offense trying to stay ahead of a defense that has seen plenty of the same concepts from the same coaching line. [Read more 🡒]
Rams Special Teams Problem Has Become Impossible To Ignore
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Bubba Ventrone now has a unit under the microscope, and the pressure is not just on the players trying to make tackles and flip field position. Les Snead has shown a willingness to keep adjusting the roster when something is not working, and special teams may be headed for more of that scrutiny if the Rams do not clean things up soon. For a team trying to stay sharp everywhere else, this phase of the game has become the one area it can least afford to keep ignoring. [Read more 🡒]
Rashod Bateman Trade Buzz Could Put Ravens In A Tough Spot
With the Rams sitting at 2-3, the search for offensive help is already starting to take on some urgency, and Baltimore wide receiver Rashod Bateman has surfaced as a name to watch. Bleacher Reports Gary Davenport pegged Los Angeles as a possible landing spot, pointing to the teams need for more receiver depth and Batemans track record as reasons the fit could make sense.
Bateman has shown enough this season to keep his name in the conversation, with one touchdown, 16 catches and 233 receiving yards in five games. For the Rams, any move of this sort would be about adding another reliable target and reshaping the passing game around the stretch run, while the possibility of a deal could leave Baltimore weighing whether it can afford to part with a receiver who still has plenty of value in the market. [Read more 🡒]