Cornerback has always seemed like the Rams’ finishing touch in roster construction, the move the team makes when it feels like it is on the precipice of a Super Bowl. Marcus Peters in 2018 ahead of Super Bowl LIII. Jalen Ramsey in 2019 after that Super Bowl defeat, a piece that would play a key role in the eventual championship push in the 2021 season.
On Wednesday, the Rams took a similar swing, trading for Chiefs All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie. According to multiple media reports, the Rams are sending the No. 29 pick in this year’s NFL draft as well as 2026 fifth- and sixth-round picks and a 2027 third-rounder to Kansas City.
In four NFL seasons, McDuffie has been named to one All-Pro first team and a second team. The former first-round pick has three interceptions and 34 pass breakups in his career, as well as 5.5 sacks and eight forced fumbles.
McDuffie, 25, fills a major need for the Rams, who have three cornerbacks entering free agency and a fourth in Darious Williams who could be a release candidate this spring. But McDuffie also represents a serious upgrade in talent at the position, with an ability to line up outside or at the slot depending on matchups.
McDuffie, a former St. John Bosco standout, is entering the final year of his rookie contract but is expected to sign a long-term extension with the Rams, according to reports.
General manager Les Snead said he would take a more aggressive approach to this offseason if quarterback Matthew Stafford returned to the Rams for another season.
“If Matthew decides to come back I do think there’ll be an element of – whether it’s 51-49, whether it’s 52-48, whether it’s 60-40 – let’s definitely make the most of the time we have with Matthew,” Snead said in February. “Because … the type of season that he’s still showing he can have, there’s only so many of those left. Those are some moments that you want to take advantage of.”
And with a week still to go until free agency opens, Snead made his first big move of the spring.
It’s the kind of trade the Rams made a habit of in the buildup to Super Bowl LVI, trading first-round picks for Ramsey and Stafford and additional compensation for outside linebacker Von Miller to get the team over the hump for its first championship in Los Angeles.
But the Rams had abandoned that type of team building since 2022’s crash back down to earth. Snead and his front-office team had taken a more conservative approach, utilizing draft picks to restock the roster, even using the team’s first first-round selection since 2016 in 2024 on outside linebacker Jared Verse.
The result was one of the youngest rosters in the NFL, but also one of the most competitive. After a surprise playoff appearance in 2023, the Rams pushed the eventual-Super Bowl champion Eagles to the brink in the 2024 divisional round. Then they fell to the Seahawks in the NFC championship game this January.
After coming so close to a third Super Bowl appearance in eight seasons, the Rams appear to be returning to that all-in approach. But even with trading away four picks for McDuffie, the Rams still have seven selections in this upcoming draft, including the No. 13 overall pick courtesy of the Atlanta Falcons.
And with that pick, the Rams will no longer feel pressed to take a corner, instead being able to focus on the best player available with McDuffie in the fold.
“We would love to approach it where when the draft starts that Thursday night that we could pencil in a starting lineup or an opening day batting order on paper,” Snead said Tuesday. “At that point in time, we could get through that game. We could be competitive in that game. We’d like to be able to say ‘We’d have a chance to win that game more times than not.’ Then we use the draft to improve from there but not necessarily be desperate going into the draft.”