The Los Angeles Rams have had more than a handful of guys log snaps at the cornerback position this season. Jalen Ramsey, Darious Williams, and David Long Jr. are the top three cornerbacks on the Rams in terms of snaps played, but Dont’e Deayon and Robert Rochell have contributed, too.
With two weeks to go in the regular season, how has the trio of Ramsey, Williams, and Long performed when they are targeted in coverage?
When I took a look at this graphic after Week 13, Ramsey was in the section of cornerbacks that are rarely targeted and are good in coverage. However, quarterbacks have been targeting the All-Pro cornerback in the latter part of the season, but they’ve still had little success completing passes against him.
Completion Percentage Over Expected (CPOE) when targeted for corners, along with target rate (targets / coverage snaps) through Week 16 of this season. min. 300 coverage snaps.
CPOE model: nflfastR
Def Targets: Sportradar
Cov Snaps: PFF pic.twitter.com/SBABFtiu2f— Anthony Reinhard (@reinhurdler) December 29, 2021
Williams was in the “often targeted but good defense” area of the chart following Week 13, only for him to now fall in the “often targeted and poor defense” category. The timing of Williams’ inconsistent play is concerning, especially with him being in a contract year.
The biggest surprise is seeing Long now included among the cornerbacks that are rarely targeted and performing well in coverage. Long’s best game of the season came in Week 14 against the Arizona Cardinals when the Rams were shorthanded in the secondary due to COVID-19.
It’s going to be crucial for the secondary of the Rams to be at their best come playoff time considering that the NFC features quarterbacks like Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Dak Prescott, and Kyler Murray. At the very least, it’s comforting for the Rams to know that No. 5 is always going to be at his best at the cornerback position.
