Pro Football Focus has been going position by position and ranking the top 32 players at each spot this offseason, and the Los Angeles Rams have been well-represented. However, when it comes to the site’s list of the best outside cornerbacks, Rams fans might have a bone to pick.
PFF’s Ben Linsey ranked Jaire Alexander ahead of Jalen Ramsey as the No. 1 cornerback in football, with Ramsey coming in at No. 2. He’s not the first analyst to pick Alexander over Ramsey as the best corner in the league, but after the 2020 season, it’s hard to go with anyone over the Rams’ All-Pro.
Here’s part of what Linsey wrote about Ramsey in his rankings.
After being charged with eight receptions allowed in Week 1 against the Dallas Cowboys, Ramsey proceeded to allow just 24 receptions over the remainder of the regular season, giving up fewer than 25 receiving yards in 11 games. The ability to limit production like Ramsey did against top-flight talent is invaluable for the Los Angeles Rams defense.
On a seemingly weekly basis, Ramsey was lining up across from elite wide receivers throughout the year. He matched up with DK Metcalf and DeAndre Hopkins twice each and held them completely in check in those four total games. He also shut down Terry McLaurin, Allen Robinson, Mike Evans and Stefon Diggs, who are top-flight receivers.
Further down the list was Darious Williams. He was ranked 20th, one spot behind Jamel Dean and a slot ahead of Kyle Fuller. He’s still proving himself as a top cornerback and could ascend higher with another great season in 2021.
Williams’ career trajectory is very similar to Dean’s in that he graded exceptionally well in a limited role in 2019 and didn’t take any sort of step back in a full-time starting job this past season. Williams earned coverage grades above 81.0 in each of the last two years and made some remarkable plays on the ball in coverage in Brandon Staley’s defense in 2020. His 19.1% forced incompletion rate was a top-five mark at the cornerback position last year, tied with Jaire Alexander.
The Rams have one of the best cornerback duos in the NFL with Ramsey and Williams. The hope is that they can extend Williams long-term after giving him a one-year tender for 2021, tying him and Ramsey together for the foreseeable future.
The loss of Troy Hill in free agency hurts, but Ramsey and Williams should sustain a high level of success in coverage.
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