The Los Angeles Rams made one of the biggest moves of the offseason last week when they traded for Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie. While the Rams added McDuffie and signed the cornerback to an extension, they still have a need at cornerback. It wouldn’t be surprising to see them spend on a cornerback in free agency to add a known commodity on the other side of McDuffie.
Throughout the Sean McVay and Les Snead era, the Rams haven’t been afraid to add players who were also former teammates.
During the 2024 NFL Draft, the Rams selected Jared Verse and Braden Fiske. During McVay’s first offseason, they signed Robert Woods in free agency before trading for Sammy Watkins. Both had been teammates on the Buffalo Bills. Even before that, Snead drafted Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey who both played at West Virginia. That doesn’t mention that Emmanuel Forbes and Kam Curl also played in the same secondary in Washington.
The overall effect of that familiarity is unclear, but it certainly doesn’t hurt to have players that have past chemistry. The Rams could look to do that in free agency. After trading for McDuffie, the Rams could sign the other cornerback in the Chiefs secondary in Jaylen Watson who is a free agent.
Watson and McDuffie were both selected by the Chiefs in the 2022 NFL Draft and have played the last four years together. Still, their stories could not be more different. McDuffie was selected in the first-round of that draft while Watson was taken in the seventh round. Drafting both players helped the Chiefs re-build their secondary as they looked to get cheaper on the backend of their defense.
While McDuffie has played opposite of Watson for much of the last two years, due to McDuffie’s versatility, he has lined up on the slot on the same side as Watson. Over the last two years, the Rams have struggled at times with communication in the secondary. Having two players who understand each other and have past experience communicating and passing off wide receivers to each other could be a benefit. A good example of that is seen in the dots diagram below.
Watson complements McDuffie well due to his size. He’s 6’2, 197 pounds with arms just over 32-inches in length. Outside of Emmanuel Forbes, that size and length is something that the Rams lack on the outside. Adding Watson would give the Rams a player with size that they can better trust than Forbes.
That size is immediately felt with Watson’s tackling. Last season, he had just a 5.8 percent missed tackle rate which was seventh among cornerbacks. He also allowed a 67.4 passer rating when targeted which ranked eighth. Watson did have a down year in 2025, allowing his most yards in coverage in a single season. However, he hasn’t allowed a touchdown in two years. Again, he also gives the Rams what they need opposite of McDuffie as a cornerback with size.
According to Spotrac, Watson has a market value of $12.4 million per year with a projected contract of three years, $37.4 million. Pro Football Focus has Watson in a similar range, with a projected contract of three years, $45 million.
Despite already trading for McDuffie and signing him to an extension, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Rams add another cornerback in free agency. If they do, someone like Watson who has played with McDufie makes a lot of sense.
