Whether they’re ready or not, the Los Angeles Rams’ young defensive backs will be in the spotlight a lot next season. After Eric Weddle’s retirement and the team’s decision to let Nickell Robey-Coleman become a free agent, Los Angeles is banking on first- and second-year players to step up in those voids.
Taylor Rapp is already a proven starter after replacing John Johnson last season, but Terrell Burgess, David Long Jr. and Jordan Fuller will all likely be called upon at some point to contribute.
That’s especially likely if the Rams continue using dime personnel packages as much as they did in 2019. According to Pro Football Focus, the Rams used their dime defense more than every team in the NFL but one (the Packers) last year.
Most dime personnel snaps in 2019
1. Packers – 520
2. Rams – 461
3. Ravens – 391
4. Patriots – 354 pic.twitter.com/8Y96DlH65M— PFF (@PFF) May 21, 2020
Dime packages get six defensive backs on the field at once and are typically used in obvious passing situations. But for the Rams, they used dime personnel almost out of need last year. With only one truly reliable linebacker in Cory Littleton, they were forced to use safeties such as Rapp and Marqui Christian as hybrid linebackers – thus the frequent usage of dime defense.
In 2020, Rapp will be a starter next to Johnson, which means Burgess or Fuller could serve as the all-important third safety. In Burgess’ case, he could also be asked to help replace Robey-Coleman in the slot as the nickel corner.
He’ll have to compete with Long for that position, though both could find themselves on the field together in dime packages. Here’s one example of how the Rams secondary could look in dime situations.
CB1: Jalen Ramsey
CB2: Troy Hill
Nickel CB: David Long Jr.
FS: John Johnson
SS: Taylor Rapp
Safety: Terrell Burgess
You could also have scenarios where Burgess is the nickel corner and Fuller comes on the field as the third safety, playing a true free safety role in the middle of the field. That would allow Johnson to match up with tight ends and Rapp to be a strong safety near the line of scrimmage.
There’s still a lot to be determined with this secondary, but one thing’s for sure: The Rams have options, most of which rely on their young defensive backs. The one wild card in this all is the arrival of Brandon Staley, who’s a first-time defensive coordinator.
We know Wade Phillips liked to use dime packages a lot last season, but will Staley feel the same way? In short, probably. The Rams don’t have the linebacker depth or talent to consistently run base 3-4 packages, and even in nickel situations, they would have two linebackers on the field.
They’re better off relying on their talented secondary to take away the pass with these dime and “big nickel” packages.
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