Over the past month, the issues at cornerback for the Los Angeles Rams have become evident. While it was a group that was able to hold their own with Ahkello Witherspoon on the field, Witherspoon is out for the next 2.5 months. This has since been a group that’s allowed big plays to the Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts. They’ve also been a big reason for losses to the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers.
However, the fact that it took one injury at cornerback to derail the perimeter defense is the underlying issue at the position. The Eagles passing offense has largely struggled for much of the season. When Jalen Hurts attacked the Rams down the field in the second half, he completed seven of nine passes of 10+ air yards for 154 yards and two touchdowns. Without Brock Purdy, Ricky Pearsall, and George Kittle, Jones threw for 342 yards which were his most in a single game since 2022.
On passes in the intermediate area of the field, the Rams have the third-worst pass defense, allowing 0.76 EPA per pass. That’s the area of the field in which quarterbacks are going to test cornerbacks. In Weeks 1-2 with Witherspoon, the Rams allowed four of eight passes on the outside in this area of the field for 68 yards. Over the next two games without Witherspoon, the defense allowed six of six passes for 102 yards.
Without Witherspoon, the Rams have had to rely on Emmanuel Forbes and Darious Williams. Williams has allowed seven receptions on 11 targets while Forbes has allowed 11 catches on 13 targets. Forbes is one of three cornerbacks to allow a passer rating of 158.3 when targeted during Weeks 2-5 and has also given up three touchdowns. His 17.2 yards per reception is among the 10 highest and that doesn’t mention Forbes’ 30 percent missed tackle rate.
Forbes has essentially become Derion Kendrick without the penalties. He simply can’t be relied on in coverage. Williams only looks better in comparison, but he has also struggled on the perimeter. A fall-off for a 32-year-old cornerback was always going to happen. Relying on both of these players is the underlying issue because it didn’t need to be this way.
For the first time this season, the Rams had a pressure rate under 40 percent against the 49ers. Instead of a top-10 pressure rate for the week, they were inside the bottom-five. For a defense that predicates itself on creating pressure and havoc with its defensive line, they were unable to do so in Week 5. The question heading into the season was always how the cornerbacks would hold up when pressure didn’t arrive. What happened against the 49ers was the answer.
Heading into the offseason, the Rams always had questions at the cornerback position. They opted not to break the bank for a player like Charvarius Ward who has been the second-best cornerback in football this season per PFF. They opted not to trade for Jalen Ramsey who has ranked fifth. Isaiah Rodgers signed for $5.5 million per year and is PFF’s top cornerback.
For the record, the Rams had the cap space to add any of these players. They currently have $15 million in cap space. An investment at cornerback seems like it may have been better than a $10 million investment for a No. 4 wide receiver.
During the draft, the Rams didn’t address the cornerback position at all. They took Terrance Ferguson over Will Johnson. Johnson has allowed just a 55.6 percent reception rate on targets. The Rams drafted Chris Paul Jr. who didn’t make the roster over Denzel Burke who is also having a strong rookie season.
Instead, the Rams took the high floor with known commodities in Ahkello Witherspoon and Darious Williams. They also operated with the idea that they were gaining a first-round talent in Forbes. At the same time, there was evidence that Forbes may not work out. The issue here isn’t that Forbes hasn’t developed as hoped. Many of the issues that he’s currently having are issues that he had in Washington. The primary and underlying issue to the Rams’ problems at cornerback is putting all of their eggs in the Forbes basket instead of properly addressing the position.
Now, the options are rolling with Forbes or experimenting with several undrafted free agents at the position or a player that the team signed a few weeks ago. When asked if the Rams were considering adding a cornerback, head coach Sean McVay said, “That hasn’t been something that we’ve talked about. I think, those guys did a good job and we’ll continue to lean into them.”
It’s possible that McVay is putting on a poker face. With Matthew Stafford playing at a MVP-level, the Rams have to take advantage of it. They can’t let a season like this go to waste. That’s not to say that they need to mortgage the future, but they absolutely should be looking to add a cornerback that can raise the level of the secondary.
The Rams’ systemic issues cornerback situation isn’t just about one player underperforming. This is about the path that the team chose and the risks that they opted to take. They bet on patchwork solutions and are now paying that price. They doubled down on short-term answers and hoped for development that hasn’t come. The warning signs at cornerback were clear all offseason and if the Rams are serious about making a push for a Super Bowl, it’s something that they’ll need to address.
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