THE LOS ANGELES RAMS gambled that they could lean on their young pass rush rather than investing heavily into their secondary going into the 2025 season.
That pass rush, led by Jared Verse, Kobie Turner, Byron Young and Braden Fiske, was so good during the 2024 season. The group combined for 28.5 sacks. Verse, the No. 19 pick, was named Defensive Rookie of the Year. And so the following season, the Rams took a chance to rely more on their young playmakers getting to the quarterback quickly rather than pay top dollar -- or draft pick -- for a cornerback.
But toward the end of the 2025 season, and especially after losing to the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game, it was clear that not investing in their cornerbacks had to change.
Though the Rams finished the season ranked fourth in defensive passing DVOA, in that NFC Championship Game, Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold completed 25 of 36 passes for 346 yards and three touchdowns.
"The defensive backfield was not our strength by the end of the year," Rams team president Kevin Demoff said.
The Rams had four pending free agents at the cornerback position (Cobie Durant, Ahkello Witherspoon, Roger McCreary, Derion Kendrick) -- who all eventually signed one-year deals elsewhere during free agency. Cornerback Darious Williams, who was under contract for the 2026 season, retired in March.
As general manager Les Snead and the scouting staff were watching film of the upcoming free agent class early in the offseason, the group talked through the best way to improve the position.
"We're going through the scenarios and we're watching the corners that would be available," Snead said. "You're looking at the draft, you're looking at who might be available at 13, who might be available at 29. You're talking about that probably for two to three weeks straight."
And while they were watching then-Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Jaylen Watson, another player stood out too.
"As you're watching Jaylen, you can't help but notice Trent [McDuffie]," Snead said.
There were "whispers," Snead said, that the Chiefs might be willing to trade McDuffie, the All-Pro cornerback who had one season left on his rookie deal after Kansas City picked up his fifth-year option last offseason.
Over the course of six days, the Rams revamped their cornerbacks room, acquiring McDuffie for a package of draft picks that included the No. 29 selection in 2026. After trading for McDuffie, the Rams signed him to a four-year contract extension that made him the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history. By investing in the cornerback room for the first time since trading cornerback Jalen Ramsey in March 2023, the Rams have attempted to give defensive coordinator Chris Shula help in the defensive backfield, unlike last season.
"I feel like we went the best available option that we could to strengthen a position that was probably our biggest concern headed into the offseason," Demoff said.
The day after agreeing to the extension with McDuffie, the Rams agreed to terms on a three-year, $51 million contract with Watson, reuniting the former teammates who won two Super Bowls together in Kansas City.
"Both of these guys bring a physical presence to our defense," Rams coach Sean McVay said. "We want our play style to look a certain way. All 11 are going to be tough. You're not going to play if you're not going to be tough for us. Both of these guys check those boxes and we're very excited to get to work with those guys."
AS SOON AS the news broke that the Rams were trading for McDuffie, the first call he answered was from wide receiver Puka Nacua. The pair played together at the University of Washington in 2019 and '20.
"He was just screaming at the top of his lungs," McDuffie said. "I'm like, 'Puka, bro, I miss this. I miss this energy. I miss what you bring.'"
McDuffie has deep roots with the Rams, not only because he grew up in Southern California, but because of his ties to the team. Along with Nacua, McDuffie was high school teammates with current Rams safety Quentin Lake. McDuffie also played for Rams pass game coordinator and defensive backs coach Jimmy Lake when Lake was the head coach at Washington.
McDuffie said when Los Angeles came up as a potential trade destination with his agent, Patrick Collins, they checked the box of wanting to go to a team that was a contender.
"This team has been knocking on the door year in and year out, especially since I've been in the league," McDuffie said. "I could tell that this culture was something special."
McDuffie said he feels the added responsibility of the contract, saying he wants to be "one of those guys that when teams think of the Rams, they can look at me and be like, 'OK, that's what it means to be a Ram.'"
Trading for -- and extending -- McDuffie follows the Rams' tendency to go after younger players coming off their first contracts. In 2018, the Rams traded for wide receiver Brandin Cooks. The following year at the trade deadline, the Rams traded for cornerback Jalen Ramsey.
It was Ramsey, who spent nearly four seasons in Los Angeles, that McVay pointed to when discussing the versatility McDuffie can play with.
"He can do a lot of things that were similar to what made Jalen Ramsey such a special player for us when our defense was really operating at a high clip," McVay said. "He can play into the boundary, he can play to the field, he can play in the slot, he can blitz. He's rare. And then he's a rare human. And that was really important. ... I mean, you can't find anybody that doesn't love this guy and what he represents."
TWO DAYS BEFORE Watson signed in Los Angeles -- when McDuffie's trade hadn't even been made official -- it was McDuffie calling Watson. The cornerback wanted his former teammate to keep an open mind about joining him in Los Angeles.
"I was calling him ... like, 'Bro, you never know,'" McDuffie said. "'We might get you. We might get you. Keep an open mind.'"
On the first day of the negotiating window opening, the Rams agreed to terms with Watson on a three-year deal.
"Literally it dropped and I called him again like Puka screaming at the top of my lungs like, 'Look at this!'" McDuffie said. "'Can you believe it?'"
In his introductory news conference in Los Angeles in March, Watson said he really wanted to sign with the Rams this offseason. But after they traded for McDuffie, he thought the move couldn't happen given the contract extension he knew his former teammate would be signing.
The Rams' intention was not initially for the pair to be a package deal. Snead said after the Rams traded for McDuffie, they were still monitoring the players that would be available in unrestricted free agency and "didn't necessarily plan for [Watson] to be available."
Watson said he was excited to continue his career on the field across from McDuffie because "when you play with a corner that good, it raises your level of play."
"Whether you are watching him in a game, you are just stealing the little things from him," Watson said. "Watching him in practice reps, it makes you want to play to a higher level."
McVay praised Watson's physicality, noting the length and toughness the coach could see when watching film. Watson said he thinks his ability to match up against bigger and more physical receivers is his "strength."
"That's why I think me and Trent complement each other so well," Watson said. "His strengths are the short area, quick game and the smaller, shiftier guys. My strengths are the big receivers. We should be pretty diverse. We should be able to match up pretty well against a lot of different looks that we get."
THE RAMS' GENERAL philosophy about the draft, Snead often says, is addressing major roster voids or holes during the free agent period so they can avoid being "desperate."
"It's not always the case, but we would love to approach it where when the draft starts that Thursday night that we could pencil in a starting lineup," Snead said before the start of the new league year in March. "... Then we use the draft to improve from there, but not necessarily be desperate going into the draft. There's a possibility that desperation could cause you to make 'less than decisions' in the draft."
By trading for McDuffie and signing Watson, the Rams have allowed themselves the option of taking the best player available at their first-round pick at No. 13 instead of feeling like they have to take a cornerback to fix a roster weakness. Even if the Rams draft a cornerback in a later round, he will not be expected to play a major role on defense in 2026.
The Rams have built a team engineered to win now -- especially with quarterback Matthew Stafford returning for his 18th season -- but by adding McDuffie, the hope for the Rams is that he could be a key to the next window to be a Super Bowl contender as well.
"I truly think we have a great opportunity to be one of the teams who goes and competes for the Super Bowl this year," Demoff said. "I also want to have a great opportunity to go compete for a Super Bowl in 2027, 2028 and 2029. And how do you walk that line?"
The Rams hope that by aggressively addressing the cornerback situation on their roster -- to go along with their pass rush -- in the short and long term, they will hit that mark.