Rams rookie Jordan Fuller shining in camp with 2 INTs

Fuller is already making an impact early on in camp.

Jordan Fuller wasn’t drafted as early as Cam Akers and Van Jefferson, and he doesn’t fill an immediate need on defense, so expectations for the rookie safety are tempered. However, he already seems to be exceeding the bar set for him with an impressive start to training camp.

The rangy safety has shown off his ball skills, awareness and range in practice on back-to-back days with interceptions. The Rams shared a clip of his second pick, covering the deep middle of the field to prevent a big play from John Wolford to Jefferson.

Fuller made a nice over-the-shoulder catch, which isn’t an easy grab to make for a safety.

Fuller probably won’t contribute much as a rookie because of the depth the Rams already have at safety with John Johnson, Taylor Rapp and Terrell Burgess, but at worst, he’ll get on the field in dime packages and possibly big nickel sets.

The rookie has already caught the eye of the eldest safety on the team with Johnson paying him a compliment in the early part of camp.

“Jordan is long. He can run. He looks like he could cover sideline-to-sideline,” Johnson said last week. “He can come out the post, so I’m excited to see what he could do.”

Fuller is a nice complement to the skill sets that Johnson and Rapp possess, playing a true free safety role in college, which will transition to the NFL. Johnson and Rapp are both better near the line of scrimmage, so Brandon Staley could find ways to get Fuller on the field in three-safety sets with Fuller patrolling the deep middle.

As a sixth-round pick, expectations shouldn’t be too high for his rookie year, but with Johnson set to hit free agency in 2021, Fuller could see his role grow even more next year.

Terrell Burgess and Jordan Fuller already impressing in the secondary

John Johnson has come away impressed with both of the Rams’ rookie defensive backs.

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One area of the Rams roster that got much younger this offseason was the secondary. Eric Weddle retired, Nickell Robey-Coleman had his option declined and Marqui Christian left in free agency.

Although the Rams didn’t add any defensive backs in free agency, they did select two in the draft: Terrell Burgess and Jordan Fuller. They join a secondary that will likely have a first-time starter at the nickel spot, as well as a younger tandem at safety with John Johnson and Taylor Rapp.

Burgess and Fuller are in a tough spot after their first NFL offseason was mostly virtual due to the coronavirus pandemic, but they’ve already made a strong impression on Johnson in the first two weeks of practice.

“They came in ready to go,” Johnson told reporters Thursday. “They must have come from good college programs or high school, whatever it is, but they came in ready to go. Great athletes, you can move them around, so I’m excited for their future.”

Burgess comes in as a third-round pick out of Utah, providing excellent position versatility and instincts in the defensive backfield. He only has one year of starting experience under his belt, but he played all over the field last season for the Utes, lining up everywhere from outside corner to linebacker.

Fuller was selected in the sixth round after starting three years for the Ohio State Buckeyes. He’s more of a true free safety, roaming the middle of the field in the deep third. He had five interceptions and 10 passes defensed in the last three seasons, showing good ball skills.

Johnson shared some insight on both rookies and what makes them good defenders.

“They’re both good guys. They’re smart, hard-working,” he said. “I will say, things that jumped out to me – Jordan is long. He can run. He looks like he could cover sideline-to-sideline. He can come out the post, so I’m excited to see what he could do. And Burgess, he’s versatile, he’s quick, he’s fast and I wasn’t expecting that either. I didn’t study them, obviously, but both of them, I’m very impressed with.”

Burgess will have a better chance to contribute as a rookie than Fuller will, just because of his versatility and draft pedigree. Sean McVay and Brandon Staley have already brought his name up as a candidate to play the nickel spot, which has been vacated by Robey-Coleman.

He has some competition in David Long, Darious Williams and Dont’e Deayon, but Burgess’ tape at Utah is impressive. He just needs to continue that level of play early on in the NFL.


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Ohio State Football Profile Card: Shaun Wade

A profile of Ohio State cornerback Shaun Wade entering the 2020 college football season.

Name: Shaun Wade

Number: 24

Position: CB

Class: Junior

Height: 6’1″

Weight: 195 lbs

Hometown: Jacksonville, FL

High School: Trinity Christian Academy

2019-2020 Stats:

GP Solo Tackles Ast Tackles TFL Sacks Int Int TD FF Pass Def
11 17 9 4.0 2.0 1 0 2 7

Overview

Wade will be remembered for his controversial-at-absolute-best targeting ejection from the Fiesta Bowl. That play definitely changed the momentum and flow of the game, and finally gave Clemson a chance to get back in it.

The play was not entirely Wade’s fault. Like Chris Olave and the season-ending interception, it should not define him. Wade provided so much to the Buckeyes over the season, and he will be an integral piece of Ohio State’s 2020 success.

With Jeff Okudah, Damon Arnette, and Jordan Fuller all off to the NFL, the Buckeyes will need more NFL-level talent in the secondary to make up for it.

Wade absolutely has that talent. It will be up to him to show it and lead this defense to its full capabilities if the Buckeyes want to be an elite contender this year.

Highlights

Want to know what makes Wade so good? Check out his best plays from last season.

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WATCH: Los Angeles Rams’ Scouts discuss what former Ohio State safety Jordan Fuller brings to the NFL

The L.A. Rams’s scouts loved what they saw from Ohio State safety Jordan Fuller through the draft process and jumped at selecting him late.

When the Los Angeles Rams selected former Ohio State safety Jordan Fuller in the 6th round of the 2020 NFL Draft, they felt they were getting one heck of a player. One in fact, that was likely underrated and undervalued by a lot of other draft experts.

Ohio State fans know how solid Fuller was in the back end of the country’s best pass defense last season, but he doesn’t jump out with his measurement. His forty time isn’t special, but he’s a heady player that takes the right angles and erases a lot of plays with his knowledge, ability to read the quarterback, and positioning.

You can watch the Rams’ scouts gush about Fuller by clicking on the Twitter video shared by their official profile below. You can also watch the moment he got the call from the organization telling him he was about to be selected.

The NFL draft process is one you have to take chances in. The Rams clearly felt Fuller was a prospect worth more than the 6th round he was selected in, but gambled that others had him graded out to where he would drop that far.

They appear to be pretty excited that they were right and were able to select him with such great value.

 

Rams scout: Jordan Fuller is ‘very similar to John Johnson’

Jordan Fuller is viewed as a high-character player at safety.

Despite having John Johnson and Taylor Rapp already penciled in as starters, the Rams still went ahead and drafted two safeties this year. They lacked depth at the position and with Johnson becoming a free agent in 2021, they also needed future assets in case he leaves.

Much has been made about Terrell Burgess as a third-round pick, but not many people have talked about Jordan Fuller’s potential as a sixth-round pick. The Rams love his leadership qualities and high character off the field, but they’re also excited about his potential as a true free safety.

One of their scouts even likened him to Johnson before the draft when asked if Fuller would fit in with the Rams’ current starters.

“I think [he’s] very similar to John Johnson,” area scout Brian Hill said. “That’s what I thought when I was watching him. I guess if you want a little more speed, he doesn’t have exactly the juice, but he makes up for it with the right angles and [he’s] long and rangy.”

Fuller doesn’t have elite athleticism or range, but he’s got the size and length teams want in a safety. Not to mention, as a two-time safety at Ohio State, he’s a great locker room guy to have on the team

“Great kid, he’d be an ambassador for the program. I think he played a lot better this year – big and long and takes the right angles so he plays faster than what his 40 time is,” Hill added.

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Rams’ heavy usage of dime defense will put spotlight on young DBs

Terrell Burgess, Jordan Fuller and David Long Jr. will all be called upon as rookies next year.

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.

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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5 things to know about Jordan Fuller, whose uncle is Sinbad

The Rams drafted Jordan Fuller in the sixth round, who’s a heady player with a high character.

The Rams dipped back into the pool of defensive backs during the sixth round of the 2020 NFL Draft, selecting Ohio State safety Jordan Fuller at No. 199 overall. He’s the Rams’ second pick in the secondary, joining Terrell Burgess as newcomers in the DBs room.

Here are five things to know about Fuller, including a fact about his famous relatives, Sinbad and Cindy Mizelle.

His family knows fame

Fuller’s family certainly knows fame. Not only is his uncle Sinbad, but his mother is singer Cindy Mizelle, who’s performed with Bruce Springsteen and the Rolling Stones, among others.

Sinbad spoke to the Ohio State football team two years ago, attempting to fire them up before a game.

Songstress Cindy Mizelle has had 2 sons drafted by NFL teams

The Rams took Jordan Fuller from Ohio State and they should sign up his mom, Cindy Mizelle, to sing the anthem before a game.

Cindy Mizelle is one of the best background singers in any genre. However, the songstress with the incredible voice doesn’t have to take a backseat to many when it comes to being an NFL mom.

Mizelle has contributed her vocal talents to over 120 albums by artists such as Freddie Jackson, Carly Simon, Chaka Khan, Johnathan Butler, George Benson, Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Patti Labelle, Céline Dion, Anastacia, and Alicia Keys.

She has also toured (and recorded) with Whitney Houston, Dave Matthews Band, and on The Rolling Stones’ 1990 “Steel Wheels” Tour. She is probably best known as having been an outstanding background vocalist for Luther Vandross, both in the studio, and on stage. She has toured with Bruce Springsteen.

Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Spike

Mizelle’s son, Devin, was a seventh-round pick out of UCLA in 2016. He made the Falcons before injuries derailed his pro career.

Another son, Jordan, has been the glue in Ohio State’s secondary for the past four years, playing in 45 games. Jordan Fuller is a safety who made more than 200 tackles as a Buckeye. His college performance earned him a sixth-round draft selection Saturday by the Los Angeles Rams.

Here are some highlights of Jordan Fuller.

And here are some highlights of Cindy Mizelle.

With The Rolling Stones:

And with Bruce Springsteen

Ohio State players in the 2020 NFL Draft: Los Angeles Rams select Jordan Fuller in 6th round

Jordan Fuller has been selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the sixth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He is the 199th overall pick.

Ohio State safety Jordan Fuller is the next Buckeye off the board. He was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the sixth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He was the 199th overall pick.

Fuller is a smart and athletic player on the back-end. Truth be known he flew a little under the radar in 2019, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have the talent to be a key contributor at the next level. He’s a great teammate with good tackling skills and a well-schooled approach. He’s extremely smart with a high football IQ and is great off-the-field.

In fact, he was named school’s 22nd NFF Scholar-Athlete and three-times earned Academic All-America accolades three times during his career in Columbus.

Fuller led the team in tackles in 2018, second in 2017, and third in 2019 while totaling 224 career tackles. He will join a list of five former Buckeye safeties who are on active NFL rosters: Malcolm Jenkins (New Orleans Saints), Tyvis Powell (Denver Broncos), Malik Hooker (Indianapolis Colts), Von Bell (Cincinnati Bengals) and Nate Ebner (New York Giants).

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Rams select safety Jordan Fuller with 199th pick in NFL draft

The Rams added yet another safety with their sixth-round pick on Saturday.

After a long wait between picks, the Los Angeles Rams went back on the clock at No. 199 overall. And with that selection, they drafted Ohio State safety Jordan Fuller.

Fuller was a three-year starter at Ohio State, finishing his career with 216 tackles and five interceptions with 10 passes defensed. While not the best athlete, Fuller is a smart safety who can also contribute on special teams early on.

He also has the size to match up with tight ends in man coverage, though he won’t do that much early in his career with the depth the Rams have at safety.

Fuller joins a secondary that also just added fellow rookie Terrell Burgess out of Utah, giving the rams excellent depth at safety and cornerback. John Johnson will be a free agent in 2021, too, and could command a high price tag if he reaches the market.