Los Angeles Rams General Manager Les Snead approached the 2026 free agency period with a mandate, repair a porous cornerback room. Obviously, he coveted what they had in Kansas City and poached both their starters. First was the blockbuster trade and contract for Trent McDuffie and following on its heels was the free agency signing of Jaylen Watson. In the course of a few days, the Rams agreed to terms with both and rebuilt the cornerback room.
The L.A. braintrust decided those two moves were enough,
bypassing any remaining NFL free agents and any additions through the draft. Only a trio of undrafted free agents were inked to fill out the squad. Here’s the Rams cornerbacks as trading camp nears the opening bell.
Starters
Trent McDuffie – 5’11” 193 lb.
Cornerstone of the rebuild came at a hefty price, This former Round 1 pick will be 26 in September and should be the foundation of the Rams secondary through this current Super Bowl window and hopefully into the next. Two Pro Bowls in his first four seasons with stellar all-around game.
What position will he play, outside or slot? Likely both, his versatility offers Rams defensive coordinator David Shula a myriad of options within each defensive package.
Jaylen Watson – 6’2” 197 lb.
Just coming into his own in his fifth season, he’’ll turn 28 in September and should be part of a Rams one-two punch at cornerback for the next three seasons. Watson brings the Rams what they haven’t had in the Sean McVay era, a big, strong press corner with long arms and acuity in man coverage. At his best, he’s the type of player you can situate outside, against any sized receiver, on an island and don’t have to shade the defense toward him.
It hasn’t been easy for Watson, he only had two seasons of D1 football sandwiched around the COVID-19 scare. After being drafted in Round 7 of 2022 NFL Draft, he was in the nickel back role and played in 16 regular season games with six starts. He started all three playoff wins on the way to a Super Bowl ring. He won another ring in 2023 and had a fumble recovery in title game. Watson won a starting role in 2024, but broke a leg after six games. 2025 brought another starting season and a solid season. He missed the final two games with a groin injury.
Primary backup
Emmanuel Forbes – 6’1” 166 lb.
Still working on resurrecting his career, Forbes had a Dr.Jekyll/Mr Hyde 2025 for the Rams. He earned 14 starts and had career bests in interceptions (3), tackles (45), and a stellar 18 passes defended. But he also missed 21 percent of tackle attempts, gave up 21 receptions of 10+ air yards, and 217 yards after catch.
Forbes is in a contract year and unless disaster strikes, he’s not going to jump McDuffie and Watson for three seasons. He needs to show that he can continue to grow and tighten up those weak areas, proving that he can come off the bench and provide quality reps.
Position/roster battle amongst the undrafted
Josh Wallace – 5’11” 185 lb.
With hesitancy, I add Wallace into the cornerback group, but with the overall lack of depth in the unit, he may be pushed into service there full-time. He been a moveable piece in the Rams secondary since being signed undrafted out of Michigan in 2024.
He has seen action in 32 of 34 regular season games, mostly on special teams, but last year Wallace had 270 reps on defense, almost double his rookie year work. Although that first year was as a traditional corner, the Rams decided to move him to the “STAR” hybrid role in preseason. Last year’s game film shows him playing predominantly deep safety in the Rams Cover2 & 3 pre-snap formations.
Wallace is good zone coverage player, who despite his size, is willing and able in run support. Only slightly above average athletically and lacking in long speed, he’s quicker than fast and does have has good length and solid explosive qualities. Fluid in pursuit and coverage with good read/react skills and route recognition coverage. A “Steady Freddy” IQ player rather than risk-taking playmaker.
Cam Lampkin – 5’10” 181 lb.
Enters his third season with the Rams, his time being mostly been on the practice squad. He’s played in four games without recording a snap on defense and has logged 31 special teams reps. He’s been a preseason game regular and there’s a lot of film to pore over, for what that level is worth. On it, you can see why he’s stuck around in L.A. and why he hasn’t been able to get a foothold.
For relatively smaller size, he plays with a feisty, aggressive style, not afraid to mix it up with opposing receivers or blockers. Willing and able to step up in run fits, but has a tendency to attempt chop tackles, throwing a shoulder at the runner’s lower extremities rather than square up, wrap around with his arms and secure things. In coverage, he’s fairly sticky and is quick to close downhill on shorter routes. While he does have good hand/eye coordination and ball-hawking skills, his long speed, acceleration, and arm length can create problems when he has to turn/run in trail position on longer routes.
The Rams must like the cut of his jib to bring him back again, but it is a difficult case to make for him being more than a hard-working practice squad competitor. Although a longshot, special teams could be a lane for Lampkin. Up until now, he hasn’t gotten a lot of work there—on a below par unit.
Al’zillion Hamilton – 5’11” 186 lb.
Although he looks to be very fluid on film and has good arm length (31”), his athletic testing was barely adequate (4.80 RAS). He did however, show good speed over distance (4.46) and agility (6.99 3cone). Feisty, cocky play style with plus ball hawking traits. Played slot/nickel early in his career, so there’s an upside for versatility, but was primarily an outside defender, both field and boundary. College film shows he was sticky in man coverage, tracks the ball well and has the hand/eye coordination and physicality to go up and get the ball at catch point. Willing to stick his nose in the action when it comes at him, not a go-getter in pursuit.
Hamilton clearly has the instincts, technique, and cover skills, now his job will be to make them translate to bigger, faster pro wideouts. His relative lack of size, strength, and athleticism are the question marks.
Nyzier Fourqurean – 6’ 190 lb.
Fourqurean has the frame and athleticism of an NFL corner, with solid length (nearly 32” arms) and big hands (10 1/4”). 8.41 RAS score. His speed over distance (4.65) is lacking, but he checks the boxes for burst, agility, and change of direction. Physical, aggressive play style. Strong tackler, gets his shoulder into contact and wraps up well. Sticky in man coverage, particularly from press. Loose enough to turn and run down the sideline and takes good angles. In the four games I watched, his pedestrian speed was not exploited, although it needs to be noted. It’s a mixed bag in zone, he often allows too much cushion and his trigger back to the ball is a hair slow. He shows good awareness, reads/reacts on routes well and will lay the wood.
Fits the Rams backup mold, assignment-based, and tough. With his aggression and tackling, Fourqurean could get a look at safety and rates a long look on special teams. Did not play a down in 2025, lost a court battle for an extra season in late summer.
Drey Norwood – 6’ 187 lb.
With an RAS score of 5.67, Norwood’s athletic testing is average. It matches his college game film, none would be considered poor, just not enough to catch much interest. Played primarily outside (both field and boundary). Good experience in Cover3 similar to what the Rams use. In zone, he appears to read/react to quarterback well. He gives up a little too much ground and doesn’t have the quickest trigger downhill to catch point or tackle. In press/man he ’s patient and does a good job of mirroring. Missouri often left him out on an island and in the four games I watched (Auburn, Alabama, Texas A&M, Oklahoma), he wasn’t exploited.
The sum of his play is better than its individual parts, not one trait stands out, but there are no glaring weaknesses. On film, teams appeared to stay away from his side, a good sign.
Alex Johnson – 6’1” 185 lb.
After bouncing around with the New York Giants, Indianapolis Colts, and Tennessee Titans, all within two years, the Rams signed Johnson to their practice squad last November. Long, lean frame with plus speed (4.44) and arm length (32”)
His only pro film is from preseason games, 2024 with the Giants and 2025 with the Colts. In his 2024 NY work, he played both high single safety and what appears to be a slot/linebacker/safety hybrid. His coverage, particularly at deep safety appears good and in space he’s a chase-and-drag tackler, but underneath, his run defense was not up to par with his coverage. Not soft, just not as aggressive as you would like a second-level defender to be. Indy used him as a traditional slot, his college position at UCLA and again, his coverage was his strong point.
I’m not sure how the Rams are going to use him, he’s raw in defending the run, but has some coverage chops. He looks very fluid and comfortable as a traditional slot corner, but I would like to see the Rams develop him as a free safety, he can really cover ground.
2026 outlook: Who’s in and who’s out?
After the incumbents, Trent McDuffie Jaylen Watson, and Emmanuel Forbes, the field is wide open. To a degree, spending a lot of time cussin’ and discussin’ CB#4 is a bit of a champagne problem, but yet, crazy things can rear their head in a 17-game NFL season.
Unless one of the dark horses really shows out in camp, Josh Wallace is the likely favorite. He had a big jump in reps last season, albeit at safety, but played college corner at a high level. At CB#4, he could still maintain a role with the safety unit. I really like Al’zillion Hamilton’s college coverage film, he’s got attitude and chops. He could surprise if he can show enough physicality. Cam Lampkin has already had two bites at the apple, can’t say say he’s shown enough growth. Nyzier Fourqurean is a corner with a safety mindset, a monster special teams showing is his lane, but it’s a narrow one. Drey Norwood has a bit of a sleeper vibe, you have to cover and tackle to flourish in the SEC. Alex Johnson seems like he’s at least a year away.
The Rams corner situation, having a dearth of experience behind a solid Top 3, is substantially less dire than it would be with other NFL teams. Defensive coordinator David Shula has leaned heavily into zone coverages and shown that he likes the depth and talent of his safety unit, using a lot of big nickel and dime formations. Both could help mask minor deficiencies in the cornerback room. Both corners and safeties are cross training, with the idea that the best fits for the defensive call are on the field and there’s not much worry about position labels.
