Former Rams defensive coordinator and new Chargers head coach Brandon Staley had a challenge in putting together the right kind of secondary for his zone-based defenses when he moved from one L.A. team to the other. Last season, the Rams played the sixth-most zone coverage snaps on opponent pass dropbacks (404), allowing just nine touchdowns and picking off nine passes. The Chargers, on the other hand, allowed 21 touchdowns to eight picks on their 338 zone dropbacks. Michael Davis is an underrated cornerback, and Derwin James is a great safety when healthy, but for Staley and his complex coverage concepts, more zone-based acumen was needed.
More zone-based acumen was acquired in the second round of the draft, when the Chargers selected Florida State cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. with the 47th overall pick. Samuel wasn’t regarded as highly as Jaycee Horn, Patrick Surtain Jr., Caleb Farley, and Greg Newsome — all who went in the first round — but Staley seemed perfectly happy with his guy.
“I think Asante’s the kind of defensive back we believe in playing with,” Staley told Rich Eisen on May 5, after the pick was made. “He can play man-to-man from bump, from off. He’s got position flex to go inside. He’s got ball judge[ment] to the deep part of the field. He’s got really good movement at Level 2, when you have to play off and you have to be able to see the quarterback and the receiver — he can really key and diagnose that way.
“And this guy can get you the ball. That’s something we really value in the defensive backfield — somebody who can get you the ball. And, he’s an outstanding open-field tackler. So, you put in the bloodlines, and man… you feel really excited about this pick. We feel like he’s going to make our secondary a lot more complete. I know his teammate Derwin James, a fellow ‘Nole, was very excited. He kinda called his shot in the morning meeting before the draft [James told Staley, ‘Don’t forget about the ‘Noles,’), so I’ve got to give Derwin props on that one. Hopefully, the Football Gods were looking out for us.”
DB versatility was one of the primary points of Staley’s defense with the Rams, and the same will be true of the Chargers. Cornerback Jalen Ramsey was utilized particularly well in Staley’s system — Ramsey was deployed everywhere from boundary matchup corner against X-iso receivers to the more versatile “STAR” position, in which Ramsey would move to the slot and present matchup issues in all kinds of ways.
“I see him like [how] LeBron James is used in the basketball court, where he’s a positionless player,” Staley said of Ramsey last season. “You’re a little bit of a corner, you’re a little bit of a safety, a little bit of a linebacker — inside linebacker and outside linebacker, because you’re kind of a rusher, too. It’s a spot that you have to possess all those qualities of those four positions. You’ve got to be able to process, because things happen quickly inside. You need a guy that can see and a guy that can think and operate quickly. … Those are things that he does well.”
The Rams were particularly devastating when playing Cover-3 last season — they allowed 104 completions on 164 attempts for 1,045 yards, three touchdowns and seven interceptions when playing single-high zone. Only the Saints allowed a lower opponent QBR than the Rams’ 69.8. One reason they played this so well was Staley’s preference for showing two-high pre-snap looks and spinning to single-high as the play developed.
When you look at Samuel’s skill set, it’s not surprising that Ramsey — another Florida State alum — loved the pick for his former defensive coordinator.
Yeahhh this one of my favorite picks .. happy for y’all @DerwinJames & @godschild3_ ! First dinner out here on me when Rook get in town lol https://t.co/hJcSd0Gtjl
— Jalen Ramsey (@jalenramsey) May 1, 2021
Last season, when playing zone coverage, Samuel allowed 13 catches on 19 targets for 97 yards, one touchdown, three interceptions, and an opponent QBR of 40.8.
Staley’s also one of the NFL’s foremost practitioners of Cover-6 — quarters coverage to one side of the field, and Cover-2 to the other — and Samuel is an absolute fit in that regard. Samuel didn’t play a ton of Cover-6 in 2020, but if we rewind to the 2019 season, he allowed three completions on five such targets for 21 yards, no touchdowns, one interception, and an opponent passer rating of 30.0.
The interception in question came against Virginia in the Seminoles’ third game of the 2019 season. It appears that Samuel is playing the Cover-2 side of the formation, and he does a great job of following the deep route at first, and then moving quickly to jump the short stuff. You see this kind of zone awareness all the time when you turn on Samuel’s tape.
It will be fascinating to see how Staley uses Samuel in his new secondary, because the fit between player and scheme seems to be an absolute lock.