There was a lot of excitement when the Los Angeles Rams drafted Taylor Rapp in the second round of the 2019 draft out of Washington, bringing on a young and talented safety to pair with John Johnson. Rapp has been a starter since he was a rookie but after four seasons, he’s now set to hit free agency and the Rams have a big decision to make.
Will Rapp be back with the team that drafted him or will he hit the market and sign elsewhere?
2022 stats
16 games
- 92 tackles
- 2 tackles for a loss
- 2 interceptions
- 6 passes defensed
- 1 fumble recovery
- 35 receptions allowed (48 targets)
- 262 yards, 2 TDs allowed
PFF grade: 76.2 overall
Analysis
Rapp came under a lot of criticism from fans this past season for his lapses in coverage and missed tackles, but the numbers suggest he was better than the public perception. He earned a coverage grade of 72.9 from PFF, fourth-best on the team, and his missed tackle rate of just 6.3% was one of the lowest on the Rams.
He did give up two touchdowns and looked out of position too many times, but he also did pull down two interceptions late in the year – albeit, when the season was all but over.
Rams depth chart
| Starter | Backup | Reserve | |
| Free safety | Nick Scott* | Jordan Fuller | Quentin Lake |
| Strong safety | Taylor Rapp* | Russ Yeast |
*pending free agent
Positional need: Medium
If the Rams prioritized the safety position more, this would be a bigger need. Rapp is a free agent, as is Nick Scott, and Jordan Fuller was benched before getting injured last season, so he seemed to fall out of favor in the secondary.
Raheem Morris probably doesn’t want to go into the season with Fuller, Russ Yeast and Quentin Lake as his top three safeties, but that’s the outlook right now with Scott and Rapp hitting free agency.
Prediction: Leaves in free agency
The Rams have a decision to make at safety because there’s almost no chance they’ll re-sign both Rapp and Scott. So it’s probably one or the other. Even as high as the coaching staff has been on Rapp from the start, I think it’ll be Scott who stays in Los Angeles.
Rapp will have suitors in free agency for a team needing safety help and a presence in the box, but the Rams would probably like to improve their safety play from a coverage perspective.
