No position group has undergone more changes for the Rams in recent years than the secondary. In Sean McVay’s first season, Kayvon Webster and Trumaine Johnson were the primary corners with Lamarcus Joyner, Maurice Alexander and John Johnson at safety.
In 2018, Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib arrived. Last year, both players were traded and replaced by Jalen Ramsey and Troy Hill. At safety, Taylor Rapp, Eric Weddle and Johnson all started games.
More changes are on the horizon in 2020 with Nickell Robey-Coleman gone and Weddle retired. David Long Jr. would seem like a logical replacement for Robey-Coleman in the slot, since he was a third-round pick a year ago, but don’t count out Darious Williams.
First-year defensive coordinator Brandon Staley singled out Williams on Thursday as a player he really likes.
“I really like this secondary group. I think that Darious Williams is a guy that played really good football for this group in the last couple games,” Staley said. “I think this guy can cover, I think he’s got a really good skill set for corner. He can run, he can change directions, he can play the ball in the deep part of the field, he’s got a good body. Him and David Long – Troy Hill has played a lot of different positions in the NFL, provides a lot of versatility. Those guys really are exciting to be able to work with and we can use those guys in some unique ways, hopefully.”
Staley’s praise isn’t unfounded, either. Williams started three games down the stretch last season, playing the majority of the snaps in the last three weeks. He picked off two passes, made 12 total tackles and broke up four total passes in that stretch
He allowed 11 catches on 17 targets in those three games, which is a respectable rate for a guy who hardly played earlier in the season. And according to Pro Football Focus, no cornerbacks had higher overall grades in the last six weeks than he and Jalen Ramsey.
In weeks 12-17, there were no NFL CBs with better Overall Defensive Grades than #LARams Darious Williams (1st) and Jalen Ramsey (2nd) 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/EgOTPBxGQB
— PFF LA Rams (@PFF_Rams) May 22, 2020
Williams will have to beat out the likes of Long and Terrell Burgess in order to earn a starting job, but don’t be surprised if he earns playing time early in the year. At the very least, he should be the No. 4 cornerback, which is enough to make the 53-man roster.
As a former undrafted free agent and waiver claim by the Rams in 2018, Williams has clearly made a good first impression on his new defensive coordinator without even taking the practice field for him.