It’s hard to expect much from a sixth-round rookie. Players drafted that late aren’t even guaranteed to make the team. Jordan Fuller not only made the Rams’ 53-man roster last year in his first NFL season, but he was a Week 1 starter at safety next to John Johnson.
Expectations weren’t overly high for the rookie out of Ohio State, given where he was drafted, but Fuller has done nothing but leap over every bar set for him. He started each of the 12 games he played last year, had three interceptions and five passes defensed, and recorded 60 tackles from his safety spot.
As if that wasn’t enough of a resume builder for the former Buckeye, Fuller checked another box on Wednesday when he was voted one of the Rams’ eight captains. For a player in only his second year, that’s quite the feat. But it should get even more attention for the fact that he was a sixth-round pick 16 months ago.
Defensive coordinator Raheem Morris has been blown away by the second-year safety, sharing just how unprecedented it is for a player to ascend as quickly as Fuller has.
“It’s really rare. You’re talking about a special human, though,” Morris said Wednesday. “You’re talking about a guy that stepped in. I forget what round he was actually drafted, maybe six. He came in at a sixth-round pick and then be able to come in to become a starter, go through some adversity, fight through an injury, be able to bounce back. Now you come back, attack another offseason. You attack the offseason with a new coach on defense, somebody you got to help out and somebody you got to teach how to communicate with you. Then you meet with that guy and you get a chance to bond with them during training camp, to watch him grow with his team. His team voted him as a captain. That is extremely special and extremely rare. It says it all about the young man.”
Fuller is expected to be the Rams’ signal caller on defense, wearing the green dot and relaying plays to the 10 other players when it comes in from Morris. That’s a huge responsibility, one John Johnson had last year.
Fuller’s intelligence and awareness on the field is evident despite him not being the rangiest or most athletic safety. He knows how to put himself in the right place at the right time, which is what makes him as good as he is.
“I’ve been around a couple of fortunate guys that have come in and contributed. I don’t know if I’ve been around a guy like Fuller who can come in and contribute and also take a leadership role and take a certain responsibility to his guys with examples,” Morris added.
As surprising as it is to see Fuller develop the way he has after just one season in the NFL, there was a contingent of people who knew he would be a good player at the next level. His position coach at Ohio State, Jeff Hafley, tweeted after the Rams drafted him that Fuller was one of the biggest steals of the draft and a future starter in the NFL.
He wasn’t wrong.
Congrats to @j_fuller4 !! Rams just got one of the drafts biggest steals. Future nfl starter here. https://t.co/4sBPnMch2c
— Jeff Hafley (@CoachJeffHafley) April 25, 2020
McVay and the Rams were obviously high on him coming out of Ohio State and they were surprised to see him available in the sixth round at No. 199 overall. It was one of their best picks of the 2020 draft and Fuller has undoubtedly been a massive steal for Los Angeles.
Sean McVay says the Rams were surprised to find Ohio State safety Jordan Fuller still available in the 6th round. LA was very high on the former Buckeyes captain.
— Greg Beacham (@gregbeacham) April 26, 2020
Fuller has become one of the most important players on defense for the Rams and now with Johnson out of the picture, his role will be even more critical. Hopefully he doesn’t miss time with injury this season because the Rams will be relying on him heavily to not only make plays, but get the defense aligned.
Few people could’ve seen a rise this rapid coming for Fuller, but he’s officially arrived and made a name for himself as a cog in Los Angeles’ secondary.
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