It was only nine games, but Jalen Ramsey gave the Rams and fans everywhere a glimpse of how good the defense could be with him leading the secondary. The 2019 Pro Bowler picked off one pass, made 33 tackles and forced a fumble in half a season with the Rams, helping Los Angeles hold its opponents under 20 points in six of his nine games played.
It certainly wasn’t the best stretch of play in his career, but his arrival allowed the Rams to play more man defense, get more aggressive up front and limit the production of opposing wide receivers.
He saw the potential that Los Angeles showed and just wishes he could’ve been there for the entire season.
“It was cool. I wish I could have been here the whole time. Just because I think we had a special defense. I mean we were good. We had a couple of hiccups here and there. A couple of games before I got here. They were 3-3, so I heard those three games were kind of the same thing … a couple of hiccups. I feel like maybe that’s what defined the season a little bit, some good games, glimpses of a really good team, a championship-caliber team,” Ramsey told Sarina Morales of the Rams’ site. “Again, at times just tripping pickups. That’s how you end up with a 9-7 record I guess. But for me, I mean it’s still a blessing to be honest. It’s only my second winning season in the NFL. I had [another] really good year, the one year with the Jaguars. Every year other than that has been a very bad year. A losing season, four wins, three wins, stuff like that.”
Ramsey remains one of the best cornerbacks in the league, even if he hasn’t played to the level he did in 2017 the last two seasons. He’s truly a lockdown corner, capable of shadowing No. 1 receivers on a weekly basis.
We saw that against Julio Jones and the Falcons, Allen Robinson and the Bears, and against the Cowboys with Amari Cooper. That element of Ramsey’s game – the ability to play man coverage on every snap if needed – improved the overall play of the defense.
He was aware of the changes Wade Phillips made to the defense when he got there before Week 7, calling more man coverage across the board.
“Yeah, I think I bring a different little aspect of when it came to defense. Switched up a little bit as far as our coverages,” Ramsey said. “I think they appreciated that in the DB room. Our communication, how we vibed together was really good. I can’t really speak on what it was in the past, but I know we gel pretty good. So I think that’s what helped all of that be a smooth transition. And then yeah, we all had one common goal and you could tell people were working hard to get to it.”
Ramsey will have a full offseason of work with the Rams in 2020, which should help the entire defense. New defensive coordinator Brandon Staley will be installing his system, too, giving Ramsey a fresh perspective in his second season with the team.
If he and Troy Hill can play the way they did in the second half of the 2019 season, the Rams will have an outstanding secondary – especially with John Johnson returning. It’s going to be fun to watch this defense in 2020.