The Los Angeles Rams don’t typically spend money on safeties in free agency but Kamren Curl was one of the few exceptions to the rule. This offseason, the Rams signed him to a two-year deal worth up to $12.75 million – admittedly not a huge contract but still one of the larger deals given out to a safety by the Rams since Sean McVay took over in 2017.
Curl spent the first four years of his career as an underrated defender for the Washington Commanders but he’s finally garnering some national attention as a versatile safety who’s more impactful than the box score suggests.
Pro Football Focus views Curl as one of the better safeties in the NFL entering the 2024 season, as represented by the site’s positional rankings for the upcoming campaign. PFF ranked Curl 21st among all safeties, one spot behind Geno Stone of the Bengals.
Although Curl had a breakout 2022 season in which he posted a second-ranked 82.9 PFF overall grade, he couldn’t replicate that performance in 2023, as his 66.6 mark ranked just 50th. But since entering the league, Curl still ranks 17th among safeties in overall grade (78.0) and 19th in coverage grade (83.7).
PFF’s grading matches Curl’s ranking for 2024, seeing as he’s been a top-17 safety since coming into the league in 2020. He’ll be an immediate starter for the Rams in Week 1 and will have a chance to play deep, in the box and even cover the slot.
The Rams are still determining who will start alongside Curl at safety but whether it’s Russ Yeast, Quentin Lake or Kamren Kinchens, the position should be in better shape than it was a year ago.
