Rams' reluctance to address biggest offseason need could be their downfall

The Los Angeles Rams and their fanbase had very different views of the team’s cornerback group this offseason. The front office and coaching staff were both perfectly content with keeping the same group they had last season, while fans were clamoring for the Rams to add help in the draft or free agency – or better yet, both.

The Rams decided not to take that path, trotting out mostly the same group of corners from the 2024 season. Ahkello Witherspoon, Darious Williams and Cobie Durant were playing well at the end of last year but there were still lingering concerns about all three: Witherspoon’s durability, Williams’ age and Durant’s consistency.

Even with Emmanuel Forbes Jr. being viewed as a starter, the Rams’ cornerbacks left fans worried about the pass coverage as a whole. It turns out, those reservations were warranted.

One long-term injury to Witherspoon has heightened the urgency level at cornerback because without the veteran healthy, the unit has begun to struggle. Badly.

It’s even gotten to the point that Sean McVay admitted the Rams will “look into” adding cornerback help.

“Yeah, I think we’re going to look into those things,” McVay said. “We always want to try to be able to improve. Like I said, I’m going to really do a deep dive into this tape. I really like the group of players that we’re working with. We want to continue to find ways to be able to put them in good positions to have successful outcomes.”

That was after the Rams gave up 342 yards passing to Mac Jones, including 142 yards to Kendrick Bourne. It was the second-most passing yards of Jones’ career and 42 yards more than Bourne has ever had in a single game in his career.

Not all of those yards were pinned on cornerbacks, but it’s the third straight week the Rams have had some trouble with opposing wide receivers. A.J. Brown had his best game of the season against Los Angeles in Week 3, AD Mitchell had three catches for 96 yards for the Colts in Week 4 and Bourne had 142 yards on Thursday night.

Forbes’ play, in particular, has dropped off recently. It’s led to a reduced role for him on defense, going from playing 82% of the snaps in Week 3 to 61% in Week 4 to only 28% this past week against the 49ers.

The Rams have been mixing and matching their three healthy cornerbacks since Witherspoon went down and they still can’t find the best combination of Durant, Williams and Forbes.

Durant can do a little bit of everything, but Williams is undersized and exclusively an outside corner, and Forbes is athletic but slender so he struggles against more physical receivers.

The good news is, it’s not too late. The trade deadline isn’t until Nov. 4, so the Rams still have time to add a standout cornerback to their secondary. It’s really the only thing holding them back right now. The defensive line has been dominant, the edge rushers have been even better and the play at inside linebacker has been surprisingly stellar.

The only thing missing is improved coverage on the outside.

When it comes to potential trades, the Rams could look at Denzel Ward of the Browns if Cleveland becomes a seller at the deadline. Greg Newsome II is another option in Cleveland. Sauce Gardner plays for a terrible Jets team and while it’s unlikely he’ll be traded, the Rams could at least inquire. Or what about Titans corner L’Jarius Sneed? He’s another name to keep in mind.

With Witherspoon out until around December, the Rams may not be able to go through most of the season with their current cornerback group. They could really use some help, and unfortunately, they missed their best opportunity to add some in the offseason.

This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Rams’ refusal to address CB need could come back to bite them

Rams’ reluctance to address biggest offseason need could be their downfall

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