Quentin Lake began the season as a backup safety behind Jordan Fuller and Russ Yeast. He didn’t play many snaps early on, mostly getting reps as a dime linebacker and slot defender, but as the season progressed, he got more opportunities.
After playing 15 or fewer snaps in each of the first five games, he never played fewer than 27 snaps the rest of the way and played all 65 snaps in Week 11 against Arizona. His role changed throughout the year but he eventually settled into the nickel role covering the slot, and he excelled at that spot.
In an interview with the LAFB Network at the Super Bowl, Lake talked about how many different positions he played, which he enjoyed.
“At first it was dime linebacker, or dime money, dime DB. Then it was safety, then it was nickel in one package, then nickel, then safety, and then safety and nickel in the same game,” he said.
Lake was proud to play so many different spots, especially knowing it was because the coaching staff trusted him. They showed a lot of confidence in Lake by deploying him in various roles, knowing he could handle the different responsibilities.
He saw his role as being similar to the one standout defender Kyle Hamilton plays in Baltimore for the Ravens.
“It was good. It was honestly an honor to show, one, my versatility. But honestly, how much the coaches trusted me,” he said. “That was a big thing. How the coaches trusted me to move from safety to nickel, or nickel to safety within a game. But a lot of it comes down to film study, like I said, having the coaches trust you. It was fun being in different spots. My football comparison, not that I want to compare myself to somebody, but really, like Kyle Hamilton, what he was doing on the Ravens defense. I feel like I had a similar role to what he was doing, on the Rams defense. Being able to blitz, cover, be back there coming out of the half, coming out of the middle of the field. It was fun, it was a good time.”
Lake’s stock is trending up heading into the 2024 campaign, becoming a key member of the defense. Whether he remains in the slot is unclear, but regardless, he’s going to play a key role somewhere in the secondary next season.
