While the overall core ideas will likely remain the same when it comes to the Los Angeles Rams defense in 2024, how the pieces fit together is one of the biggest questions that new defensive coordinator Chris Shula will have to figure out in his first season.
It’s more than just needing to figure out how to recreate Aaron Donald on the defensive line. This is a defense with several new pieces in the secondary. Figuring out the roles for each player could be a challenge and it was something that the team struggled with at times last year.
The Rams opted not to re-sign safety Jordan Fuller who had been a leader in the secondary. They signed Darious Williams, Tre White, and Kam Curl to add some veteran experience at a position that lacked it last season, especially at cornerback. By adding players like Williams and White, the Rams will hope to have fewer of the mental lapses in the secondary that they experienced in 2023.
After trading away Jalen Ramsey and also opting not to bring back Troy Hill, the Rams were forced to make due with a hodgepodge of inexperienced players. In what was meant to be a reset year, the defense made the best of sometimes an unfair situation.
With Ramsey out of the picture, the Rams tried to put second-year cornerback Cobie Durant in the ‘star’/big nickel role following a positive rookie season. To say the least, he struggled. As a player with a smaller frame, the physicality required to consistently over the middle of the field was too much. It wasn’t necessarily Durant’s fault for being put in that position, but it wasn’t a good fit.
Durant played primarily from the slot during the first six weeks of the season. In Weeks 1-6, Durant allowed the third-most yards from the slot and half of his missed tackles for the season came in those game. His coverage grade via PFF increased from 47.2 to 64.9 after being moved back to the outside. While PFF isn’t the end-all, be-all, it is a good indicator here of how much Durant improved when he was moved.
When the Rams moved Durant away from the slot, they proceeded to try Quentin Lake who mostly thrived there. Lake’s 0.72 yards per snap was the sixth-best and he only allowed 56 yards after the catch. 5.8 snaps her target and 8.4 snaps per reception also ranked inside the top-10. It’s also worth noting that during these weeks that Lake was considered the second best tackling defensive back behind only Xavier McKinney and he was one of four players without a missed tackle.
It was because of this strong play that it was thought that Lake would play in the slot this year. However, that may not be the case. It’s only OTAs and nothing is set in stone, but at this point Russ Yeast looks to be the leader for the position with Derion Kendrick getting a small run there as well. Said defensive coordinator Chris Shula,
“Yeah, Russ (Yeast) and ‘DK’ (Derion Kendrick) have been doing a great job kind of switching in that spot. And it’s always a spot that...there’s a lot of nuances to it. It’s guy that’s got to be smart. He’s got to understand the defense. A lot of stuff goes through that guy and he’s got to be able to tackle. He’s got to be the hit blocks...We’re just looking for the best mix of guys and those guys have been doing a great job so far.”
Things could change, but right now, it doesn’t seem like Lake is even in consideration for that star role. It’s possible that he’s being considered more as a starting safety next to Kam Curl. The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue noted praise for Yeast at star in the final week of OTAs. Said Rodrigue,
“At times, safety Russ Yeast hovered near Jones to talk through concepts and calls. Yeast drew praise from coaches Tuesday for some of his reads of plays during the walk-through.”
The fact that Yeast is ‘hovering’ around Jones is an interesting note as it connects the dots with what Shula said about the player in the start role needing to be smart and understand the defense. Nobody is going to understand the defense more than the player with the green dot and actually making the calls. For the Rams, that player is Jones.
It does seem interesting that the Rams would go with Yeast at the star over Lake. Again, part of that may be the lack of experience at safety, and therefore that’s where Lake is needed. Yeast also brings a lot of versatility going back to before he was drafted. Said The Athletic’s Dane Brugler on Yeast, “Overall, Yeast has cornerback-safety tweener traits, but he is an urgent player with the flow skills and cover awareness to compete for a nickel role in the NFL.” That’s exactly where the Rams need him and where he’s had the most success.
— Blaine Grisak (@bgrisakTST) December 7, 2023Russ Yeast was a relative unknown coming into the season, but has shown some flashes this year. With Quentin Lake out, he's been that third safety in the slot for the Rams defense.
Tight coverage on Nook on fourth down. Plays through the TEs hands and gets the PBU. pic.twitter.com/FgPJIeSlSR
Last season, Yeast had three games with 20 or more snaps in the slot. In those games, Yeast didn’t miss a tackle. While he did struggle in coverage, allowing a passer rating of 153.3 and 19.8 yards per reception, he did perform well as a tackler which is what Shula may prioritize at that spot. However, it still remains somewhat confusing that Yeast will be in this role considering how Lake played there last season and was one of the best tackles over the middle of the field.
It really comes down to how Yeast reacts to having a larger role and if he can continue to develop after a second season in which he got a lot of experience. Yeast barely played in 2022 during his rookie season and was more of a depth player last year. If he plays in the star role on the Rams defense, he’s going to be an every-down player.
— Blaine Grisak (@bgrisakTST) November 30, 2023Raheem Morris has been so creative this year with different pressures. Russ Yeast creates some confusion on the left side.
Byron Young is able to come in untouched and force a throw away from Kyler Murray. pic.twitter.com/p3yiISW4dv
Again, it’s still early and Shula has plenty of time to find out where the pieces fit. It’s possible that Yeast is a better fit in the ‘star’ role with the minor adjustments that Shula plans to make to the scheme. He doesn’t have the size of Lake at 6’1, 201-pounds, but he is bigger than Durant and should be able to enforce his presence over the middle of the field to some extent.
It does seem like a little big of a risk to move Yeast into that spot over Lake who had some success there last season. Since Jalen Ramsey left, the Rams have been looking for someone to make the star role on the defense their own. Last season, the Rams made the error of deciding that player was Durant. Hopefully Shula doesn’t fall into the same trap with a player who has tended to be inconsistent in Yeast.
