After 50 picks were made in this year’s draft, the Los Angeles Rams finally joined the fun and made their first selection – after trading back three times. They wound up with Washington safety Taylor Rapp, who was viewed as one of the best prospects at his position in the class.
He wasn’t expected to be a full-time starter as a rookie with Eric Weddle and John Johnson already at safety, but with Johnson out, Rapp has become a key player on defense. He’s also turned out to be one of the top rookies in the league, regardless of position.
Pro Football Focus ranked the best rookies after 13 weeks and Rapp cracked the top 10. He was No. 8 on the list after breaking through with a huge performance against the Cardinals.
The start to his rookie campaign was a slow one, but Taylor Rapp is picking up steam as of late — his 82.5 overall grade since Week 7 is the fifth best among all qualifying safeties. In that timespan, Rapp has produced the third most defensive stops (20), fifth most combined pass breakups and interceptions (five) and has allowed just a 65.2 passer rating (seventh). Rapp has produced his best plays for the Rams when playing free safety — since Week 7, Rapp has played more snaps at that alignment then he had during the first six weeks and has had an 84.3 grade in that role, ranking behind only Tyrann Mathieu and Minkah Fitzpatrick.
Rapp has made the transition from rookie backup to full-time starter look easy, playing at a consistently high level in the secondary. He can play free and strong safety, but he’s best when lining up in the box and near the line of scrimmage.
His pick-six against Arizona showed exactly why the Rams liked him out of Washington, displaying great awareness and instincts by reading Kyler Murray’s eyes and getting in the throwing lane.
He’s only going to get better, too, which makes the idea of Rapp and Johnson starting at safety in 2020 all the more exciting.
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