Jalen Ramsey Dolphins Trade Gives Rams Young CBs New Opportunities

The Los Angeles Rams went all in on selecting talent for their secondary in last year's draft. And after trading Jalen Ramsey to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, those young guns may not have a choice but to pay dividends for the team next season.

Los Angeles Rams general manager Les Snead is (probably) not a psychic, and is unlikely to have predicted he'd be trading star cornerback Jalen Ramsey a little over a year removed from winning the Super Bowl.

But that's exactly what happened on Sunday, as the Rams and Miami Dolphins agreed to a trade that would send Ramsey to South Beach in exchange for a third-round pick in this year's draft and tight end Hunter Long.

With Ramsey now gone and veteran cornerback Troy Hill set to hit free agency, the Rams could be without two of their best defensive backs from a season ago.

However, Snead and the Rams went all in on selecting talent for the secondary in last year's draft, an approach that now seems like it could pay huge dividends for an LA team set to face some uncertainty in 2023.

The Rams selected Cobie Durant, Quentin Lake, Derion Kendrick and Russ Yeast - all defensive backs - with four of their eight total picks last April. Durant was the highest selected of the four, going off the board in the fourth round.

Aside from Durant, the performance from this group was a bit underwhelming as rookies this past year, but it's obviously difficult to quickly label it all as being a disappointment after just one season.

But, though the differential in second-year playing time might vary between each player, they may have no choice but to step up to the plate in 2023. And with an entire season of experience under their belts, the Rams will have to put trust in their development.

Durant is likely set to be a full-time starter at corner after finishing only behind Ramsey in interceptions (three) on the team. Two of these picks came in the 51-14 thrashing of the Denver Broncos on Christmas, one of which Durant returned back 85 yards for a touchdown. He also added five passes defended, a sack, and 22 total tackles.

Durant was the only one out of the rookie defensive backs to record an interception, though Kendrick had a respectable first season as well.

Despite some understandable rookie inconsistencies, he still appeared in 15 games, recording 43 total tackles and four passes defended. His best statistical game came in the 27-23 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Dec. 4, where he posted a team-high 10 total tackles. The potential is clearly there, though Kendrick will have a lot to prove next season.

As for Lake, he was limited due to injury to start the season but still ended up playing in nine games. He finished with just 10 total tackles and one pass defended but recorded his first-career sack in the season finale against the Seahawks. 

While he was a sixth-round pick, Lake arguably has the biggest expectations outside of Durant entering 2023.

Yeast was the 10th-to-last pick in the draft but still managed to play in 15 games. He finished with 20 total tackles but was understandably lower on the depth chart for a Rams team that has a solid group of safeties ahead of him.

The Rams will likely need to sign or trade for another cornerback this off-season for depth purposes. But giving these ex-rookies a chance to prove themselves further next season would make Snead's timely selections of them seem well worth it.

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You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7

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