The Los Angeles Rams could get a boost to their secondary on Sunday when cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon makes his long-awaited return from injury. While the Rams initially struggled to replace Witherspoon, they have since found their groove. It’s expected for Witherspoon to be slotted back in to the defense, but where he fits in the rotation is still a question.
As Adam Grosbard of the LA Daily News wrote,
“The wrinkle is that the Rams’ cornerback room is in much better shape than it was before Witherspoon’s Week 2 injury. Emmanuel Forbes has 11 passes defended in the last four weeks as well as three interceptions, while Cobie Durant has five pass breakups and two interceptions in the last three games. So the Rams will need to develop a plan for how to utilize all three cornerbacks…Durant has played inside in his career, but like Forbes he has been thriving on the outside since the Rams’ Week 8 bye.”
When Witherspoon initially got injured in Week 2, the Rams pass defense was a problem over the next three weeks. The Indianapolis Colts, Philadelphia Eagles, and San Francisco 49ers all had success throwing the ball against the Rams following the Witherspoon injury.
From Weeks 3-5, the Rams allowed a 49.6 percent success rate through the air which ranked 19th while their dropback EPA per play was 12th. Mac Jones had one of the best games of his career and Jalen Hurts had three touchdown passes.
Following those three games, many thought that the Rams needed to trade for an outside cornerback. Instead, the team stood pat and trusted their personnel. Since then, the Rams rank first in dropback EPA per play and 11th in dropback success rate.
With Emmanuel Forbes and Cobie Durant leading the way, the Rams’ secondary has truly turned a corner. Forbes has been PFF’s top-rated cornerback in coverage while Durant has been 15th. Both Forbes and Durant are two of eight cornerbacks with multiple interceptions since Week 6. They’ve also both allowed under a 56 percent completion percentage in that time frame.
It will be interesting now to see where Witherspoon slots back in. During the first two games, Witherspoon played a majority of the snaps on the perimeter along with Forbes. Against the Texans, Witherspoon played 43 snaps on the outside along with Forbes’ 50. Durant played just 24.
However, with how well Forbes and Durant are playing, it’s hard to justify taking snaps away from either of them. While the Rams have had the best pass defense in the NFL, Forbes has played 276 snaps on the outside with Durant’s 279.
With that said, the Rams do a pretty good job rotating their cornerbacks depending on the situation. Behind Durant and Forbes has been Darious Williams. Williams hasn’t been bad by any means, but he is the only Rams cornerback to allow multiple touchdown passes since Week 6. Still, he has also allowed just 52.4 percent of passes thrown his way to be completed and has four pass breakups.
Given how much size and length Witherspoon brings to the secondary, he’s certainly going to have a role in the defense. However, it wouldn’t seem fair to take away snaps from Durant and Forbes. That means the odd man out is probably Williams, with Forbes taking a majority of those snaps. The Rams could also move Durant to the slot where he has experience, but he’s excelled on the outside.
At the end of the day, it’s a good problem to have. The Rams have four cornerbacks that they can rely on if needed. Witherspoon is too good to be kept on the sideline, but it will be up to Chris Shula on how he’s utilized in his return. Coming into the season, the secondary was considered a weakness of the Rams defense. Now, heading into the final weeks of the season, it might be a strength.
See More:
