The Rams’ secondary is led by Jalen Ramsey and Jordan Fuller, but at the other three starting positions, there are some questions. Troy Hill should be a starter after the Rams acquired him from the Browns, but he’ll have to earn that spot, too.
The nickel role and second safety job are up for grabs, and while it’s still early in the offseason, Sean McVay is encouraged by what he’s seen – most notably with Terrell Burgess, who has played sparingly in his first two seasons.
“I don’t think it can be minimized what a good job David Long did last year, as well,” McVay said on Wednesday. “I thought he played really well throughout the playoffs. Handful of important, significant snaps. Seeing Nick Scott pick up where left off. You know Jordan Fuller’s gonna be ready to go. Taylor Rapp’s been great. And I’m seeing really encouraging things from Terrell Burgess. So there’s a lot of competitive opportunities to see take place and unfold at training camp, but that’s a positive thing and some of these young guys are exciting, as well.”
Burgess was surprisingly passed over at seemingly every turn last year. He played 16 games and suited up for all four playoff contests, but he played just 90 defensive snaps in the regular season and 65 in the postseason when the secondary was decimated by injuries.
The coaching staff even turned to Eric Weddle, who was two years into retirement, before giving Burgess significant playing time, which was a bad sign for the young safety. It’s good to hear that he’s impressing McVay in OTAs, and he’ll need to keep that up into training camp if he wants to finally break through as a key contributor.
