The Los Angeles Rams have had to make countless changes and adjustments this season due to injury, but they’ve also adjusted their personnel out of choice. That’s currently the case in the secondary where the Rams have settled on a new starting tandem at cornerback.
For the second straight week, Cobie Durant was on the bench and didn’t play a single snap. Ahkello Witherspoon remains a starter opposite Darious Williams, playing just about every snap for the second consecutive game. Durant only lost his job after getting injured in Week 14, too.
There weren’t many changes on offense for the Rams in Saturday’s win over the Cardinals but Blake Corum saw his playing time greatly reduced, playing just three snaps in the game.
Offense
Joe Noteboom filled in for the injured Rob Havenstein and played every snap despite struggling mightily against the Cardinals’ pass rush, which isn’t very good to begin with.
Kyren Williams played 54 of a possible 57 snaps, leaving only three plays for Corum as the backup. Corum carried it on all three of those plays but he finished the game with minus-4 yards.
Puka Nacua played all but three snaps, with Cooper Kupp playing 48 of 54 and Demarcus Robinson seeing the field for 45 snaps. Nacua caught 10 passes but Kupp and Robinson combined for just one reception. Jordan Whittington caught a pass for the first time since October but he played just nine snaps, as did Tutu Atwell.
At tight end, it was once again a mix of all four players. Colby Parkinson played 23 snaps, followed by Tyler Higbee (17), Hunter Long (13) and Davis Allen. Higbee was the only one to catch a pass, hauling in two for 9 yards.
Defense
Durant had been playing well for the Rams at cornerback, which makes his benching somewhat surprising. Witherspoon played well and had a game-saving interception, so it seems he’s got a strong grip on the starting job. However, even Josh Wallace is getting snaps before Durant as a reserve cornerback.
Quentin Lake was the only defender to play every snap, as he typically does. Kamren Curl played all but two snaps, Kamren Kinchens played 62% of the plays and Jaylen McCollough played 28%.
Chrisitan Rozeboom played 90% of the snaps as the primary inside linebacker, but Omar Speights still got plenty of playing time, seeing the field for 71% of the snaps.
Jared Verse led the edge rushers with an 82% snap share, one play more than Byron Young. Michael Hoecht played 49% of the snaps on defense and made a huge play on special teams by blocking the Cardinals’ PAT.
Braden Fiske and Kobie Turner each played 71% of the snaps to lead the defensive line. Bobby Brown III played 34%, Tyler Davis played 33%, while Neville Gallimore and Desjuan Johnson played 11% each.