The Los Angeles Rams checked a big box off this week when they agreed to a trade that will land them All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie . The cost was a first-round pick and three other selections, so it wasn't a low-risk trade for them to make.
It was a highly impactful one, though. It bolsters the weakest position on the roster, both in terms of coverage skills and tackling. His aggressive mindset will bring an edge to the defense, too, likely leading to more takeaways and stalled drives.
Here are five takeaways from the Rams' blockbuster deal for McDuffie, which can become official next week.
Adding McDuffie undeniably fixes a lot of the Rams' issues at cornerback. They're in much better shape now than they were a week ago when they were looking at Emmanuel Forbes Jr. being their only starting-caliber boundary cornerback under contract. But even with McDuffie joining the fray, the Rams shouldn't stop bolstering the position.
They should still sign another corner in free agency or draft one in the first three rounds, continuing to add talent to one of the most important spots on the roster. Even drafting someone like Mansoor Delane, Jermod McCoy or Avieon Terrell in the first round should be a possibility.
With how often the Rams rotated their corners last season, they can't have too many players in the secondary. They'd be smart to add another starter-type corner at some point this offseason, even if it's just re-signing Cobie Durant or Roger McCreary – or both.
McDuffie is entering the final year of his contract but it's likely that the Rams will sign him to an extension sooner rather than later. They didn't give up four draft picks, including a first-rounder, to only keep him for one season.
It's already been reported that McDuffie will be seeking a market-setting contract that pays him more than $30 million per year. The Rams have the cap space in future years to get a deal of that size done, but it could come at the expense of other players.
Puka Nacua , Kobie Turner , Byron Young and Steve Avila are all eligible for extensions this offseason, entering the final year of their rookie contracts, just as McDuffie is. Next year, it could be Jared Verse and Braden Fiske 's turn to sign new deals.
Nacua is almost certain to get an extension with the Rams but if the Rams also have to pay McDuffie $30-plus million per year, will they have room for Turner, Young, Verse and everyone else?
Some have inaccurately called McDuffie a slot corner. Yes, he's very good in that role, but he's not exclusively a slot defender. He played outside more than he played in the slot the last two seasons and held up well against some top competition.
With McDuffie and Quentin Lake in the same system now, the Rams can move guys around as often as they'd like. If they want McDuffie outside and Lake in the slot with Kamren Kinchens and another safety back deep, they can do that.
If they're in nickel and want to have McDuffie in the slot with two other corners outside and Lake back deep with Kamren Kinchens, that's also a possibility. Having a corner who can seamlessly move between the outside and star positions gives Chris Shula ample options, especially with McDuffie's ability to rush the quarterback off the edge.
McDuffie isn't Jalen Ramsey , but he can move inside and outside with ease like Ramsey always has.
Beyond the usual lapses in coverage from the Rams' corners last season, there were also major issues with tackling. Emmanuel Forbes missed 18 tackles in 2025, tied for the most of any cornerback in the NFL. His 26.9 tackle grade at PFF was the worst of any corner, showing just how problematic his tackling was.
Cobie Durant was slightly better with a tackle grade of 57.0 but he's a smaller cornerback who can get overmatched physically by bigger receivers and ball carriers.
Fortunately, McDuffie should solve some of those problems. He had an 83.1 tackle grade last season, second-best among cornerbacks, and missed just four tackles. When teams try to bounce runs outside or throw quick passes against McDuffie, they shouldn't expect to gain much yardage. He always keeps things in front of him and prevents big plays.
Before the Rams traded for McDuffie, Les Snead interestingly mentioned that improving doesn't always mean changing players. It can mean tweaking the scheme and then finding players who fit that new system, whether they're already on the roster or not.
"It's all of us doing the after-action review," Snead said. "Coaching staff coming in and saying, 'Maybe tweaks to what we're trying to accomplish on the back end from a scheme standpoint, and then at that point, determining who on our roster fits the new adjustments or tweaks and then figuring out, is there an All-Pro that you could add? That could be nice. And if there's not an All-Pro, is there a player out there that adds an edge based on what we're trying to accomplish?
"A lot of times in football, you can want to improve. Doesn't necessarily mean you change people. It might mean you change schemes. It might mean in the sense with some people, you continue working with them, mentoring them, developing them."
McDuffie is known as more of a man corner than a zone defender, which doesn't necessarily fit how the Rams have run their scheme under Brandon Staley, Raheem Morris and now Shula. He can play zone, but he's best suited in man coverage where he can press at the line and stay in the hip pocket of the receiver.
Before even landing McDuffie, was Snead hinting at a shift toward more man coverage principles, knowing the Rams were in talks to acquire McDuffie? It's certainly possible. Last season, the Rams had the fourth-highest zone rate at 79.8%, according to Sharp Football Analysis . Their man rate of 15% was the fourth-lowest.
A move toward more man coverage could benefit McDuffie, and it could also signal a more aggressive attack from Los Angeles ' defense.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Trent McDuffie trade: 5 takeaways from Rams' blockbuster deal
