It was no secret the Los Angeles Rams needed help at cornerback this offseason. Acquiring Trent McDuffie via trade with the Kansas City Chiefs was the first domino to fall for the offseason. It cost LA a first round pick (29th overall) plus three others in the middle rounds and into next year. The Rams will need to work on an extension for the two-time All-Pro.
But in some ways the trade for McDuffie brings with it more questions than answers. McDuffie is a better slot than perimeter corner, and this
is objectively evident over the course of his four year career.
Los Angeles signed their current slot corner, Quentin Lake, to a three-year extension mid-season. With Kamren Curl slated to hit free agency, could Lake play more a more traditional safety role while McDuffie mans the inside? The reality is that McDuffie will likely play a hybrid inside/outside role, though that still leaves the Rams in need of two starting caliber corners on the outside.
Is it worth paying top of the market cornerback money to McDuffie if he is simply a slot player?
The Athletic Football Show reacted to the trade news and were tepid about the skillset McDuffie plays on the outside. Are the Rams equipped to best utilize his skillset? Here are some key excerpts along with the full link to the show:
On the “steep” trade compensation:
Trent McDuffie is on his way to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for the 29th overall pick this year, a fifth round pick this year, a sixth round pick this year, and a 2027 third round pick. That is a ton to give up for the Rams.
If I thought it was a steep price to pay, I felt better about it when I heard that other teams were trying to get in on this. The team that you’ve heard linked is the New York Giants, specifically. So if you’re fighting off other teams, you’ve got to sweeten the pot.
McDuffie is a “solid to good” outside corner:
I think my initial grade (on the trade) for the Rams is a little bit conditional on where they play him because in my mind—I’ve said this a number of times before—Trent McDuffie is a significantly better player out of the slot. He’s a solid to good starting outside corner. He is one of the best nickels in the league, and it gets complicated with the Rams a little bit because obviously they have Quentin Lake who has done really good in that role.“
On the price tag of the eventual extension:
(McDuffie) is going to be in line for a huge extension with the amount of money (the Rams) have and the lack of long-term investments they have.
For me, I think with Kansas City specifically—I’m kind of this way about corners in general right now—you have guys at the top that are the true kind of elite players. I don’t think there’s that many of them. I think those guys are probably worth paying… and I’m just not sure McDuffie cracks that top upper echelon of guys… where you want to devote this amount of resources to him. This to me is about opportunity cost.
