Throughout the offseason, it was a battle between Quentin Lake and Russ Yeast for the second starting safety spot next to Jordan Fuller. Yeast ultimately won that competition and has played almost every snap since, but Lake is carving out a nice role for himself as the third safety and dime defender in the Rams’ sub-packages.
His snaps have increased in each of the last four weeks, going from nine in Week 4 all the way up to a season-high 32 snaps on Sunday against the Cowboys, which was 49% of the defensive plays for Los Angeles.
He was called for an illegal contact penalty on the Cowboys’ opening drive, which negated a sack, but Sean McVay isn’t holding that against Lake because he doesn’t necessarily agree that it should’ve been a flag.
“It’s been earned, and you’re going to continue to see that,” McVay said on the “Coach McVay Show” of Lake’s growing role. “He’s a guy that is doing a great job. I’m not interested in over-evaluating a very weird situation. That was an interesting one, to say the least, that penalty. But he’s a guy that’s done a great job. He’s got a great demeanor about himself. He’s got a great pedigree. He’s only getting better the more that he plays. I thought he had a great pass breakup on the sideline. When you just look at the body movement, his physicality that he plays with on the perimeter. You’re going to see a lot more of him because he’s earning that.”
The Rams have primarily been using Cobie Durant in the slot, but Lake has gotten a lot of playing time there, too. Of his 143 snaps played this season, 93 have come in the slot, according to Pro Football Focus.
He’s allowed 13 receptions on 20 targets but those receptions have only gone for a total of 104 yards with no touchdowns and two pass breakups. He had arguably his best game of the season on Sunday, too, allowing only 15 yards on four receptions and seven total targets.
With the secondary as a whole struggling, the Rams shouldn’t hesitate to give Lake more opportunities, which it sounds like is their plan.
