The Los Angeles Rams are about to enter the postseason and serious questions still remain at the cornerback position. Entering the season, the Rams had questions at cornerback, but the front office opted to roll with familiar names in Ahkello Witherspoon and Darious Williams and then take a risk on Emmanuel Forbes.
For the most part, the risk on Emmanuel Forbes has worked out. While there have certainly been poor moments, Forbes has shown that he is a starting-caliber cornerback with some flaws in his game due to his smaller frame. Still, he’s an aggressive player on the ball and brings length and speed to the position.
Where the Rams have struggled at cornerback is with the known commodities. Williams didn’t play any snaps in Week 1 before being thrown into a more prominent role once Witherspoon went down with an injury. Witherspoon returned in Weeks 13 and 14, but was a healthy scratch the next two weeks. After giving up three receptions for 40 yards against the Seattle Seahawks, Williams has been a healthy scratch the last two weeks and it’s been Witherspoon back in the lineup.
However, once again, it hasn’t worked out and the Rams have been left with questions at the cornerback position. Back in Week 14, Witherspoon gave up six receptions for 91 yards and had two missed tackles against the Arizona Cardinals. Just this past week, Witherspoon allowed three catches on four targets for 92 yards and would have been beat with a better throw on his interception. Altogether, Witherspoon has allowed nine catches on 12 targets for 183 yards in his last three games.
It doesn’t help that Forbes has dropped in form over the past month. Since Week 13, Forbes has allowed 18 catches on 29 targets. He’s been among the top-15 most targeted cornerbacks in the NFL. However, that was always the risk with Forbes. There was going to be some level of variance to his game. That shouldn’t be the case for two veterans in Williams and Witherspoon.
Cobie Durant is better on the outside than in the slot, but like Forbes, has some limitations because of his size. He struggles to win against more physical wide receivers.
We’re now into the postseason and there are lingering questions at cornerback and who should start outside. The Rams don’t seem to have confidence in Williams or Witherspoon and it’s hard to blame them. At this point, the Rams are limited in their current options. They didn’t address the cornerback position in the offseason. Despite having questions at cornerback early in the season, they also didn’t make a move for one at the trade deadline.
The situation simply is what it is heading into the playoffs. Right now, it’s simply about picking the best available option and that likely isn’t Witherspoon. Witherspoon has dealt with an injury this season, but he’s allowing more than one yard per snap and has given up the seventh-most yards per reception without forcing a single incompletion. His missed tackle rate of 33.3 percent is also the second-worst in the NFL. It’s possible to get away with one cornerback who struggles to tackle. That can’t be the case with both cornerbacks on the field.
Williams has his deficiencies, but he’s very similar to Durant. He’s at least predictable with his size limitations and you know what you’re getting. Witherspoon has been predictably sub-par recently and for a player who was brought back to add stability, he’s simply not providing that.
The Rams are in a bit of a predicament at cornerback. This was an area in which it was thought that it may be the Rams’ downfall at the beginning of the season. Heading into the playoffs, that still looks to be the case. While having Witherspoon’s size against the Panthers and Tet McMillan and Jalen Coker would be nice, he may not be the best option. It’s going to be important for the Rams to go with the player that allows them to mitigate the least amount of damage. As long as they can manage the damage at that spot and know what they are getting, it may just be enough. Knowing which player to go with is the hard part.
