The “F them picks” era is back.
On Wednesday, the Los Angeles Rams struck a blockbuster trade with the Kansas City Chiefs, acquiring All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie in exchange for four draft picks. It’s exactly the type of trade Les Snead and the Rams have made over the years, similar to deals to land Marcus Peters, Jalen Ramsey and Brandin Cooks.
Seeing a glaring hole at cornerback, the Rams were aggressive in addressing it. Rather than waiting to bid against teams for corners in free agency or hoping the right DB drops to them in the draft, the Rams were proactive and took matters into their own hands.
And if there was one position for them to take care of this offseason, it was cornerback – a spot they surprisingly ignored last year, which came back to bite them in the playoffs.
With McDuffie in the mix, Los Angeles is set up to make another Super Bowl run. The offense will be mostly unchanged, barring a few additions in the draft and maybe free agency, but it was the league’s top-ranked unit in 2025, so it’s not as if it needed to be overhauled.
It was the defense (and special teams) that created cause for concern. And with one big move, the Rams checked off an important box in their roster-building process.
This trade isn’t without risks, of course. But the pros outweigh the cons. At least at this moment in time.
One question to ask is where exactly McDuffie will play. He was an outstanding slot corner in 2022 and 2023 before moving to the outside more often in 2024 and 2025. He had a career-low 74.7 coverage grade this past season, according to Pro Football Focus, and committed a career-high 11 penalties in 2024.
In total, he’s been called for 16 penalties and allowed nine touchdown passes the last two seasons combined after allowing only seven touchdowns with eight penalties committed the two years prior.
Another hurdle is his contract situation. McDuffie is entering the final year of his rookie deal, which is worth $13.6 million fully guaranteed in 2026. His next contract is the one that will be especially pricey.
As one of the top corners in the NFL, he could get anywhere from $28 million to $31 million per year on a potential extension from the Rams. For a team that needs to pay Puka Nacua, Kobie Turner, Byron Young and Steve Avila, that could create a complicated financial situation, perhaps even preventing the Rams from signing one or multiple of those cornerstone players.
But on the field, McDuffie is a major upgrade over what the Rams had in 2025. He’s a physical press cornerback who isn’t afraid to mix things up at the line of scrimmage. McDuffie brings great speed (4.44) to the outside and an aggressive mentality in coverage, taking chances to break up passes and prevent completions.
The Rams run a lot of zone coverage, which isn’t necessarily what he’s been accustomed to, but he has the eyes and anticipation skills to excel in zone coverage, too. He could stand to improve his ball-tracking skills with only three career interceptions, but a move to more zone coverages could help in that regard.
It was a worthwhile risk for the Rams to take, even at the high cost of four draft picks. For a team ready to win a championship now, he could be the missing piece.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Instant analysis of Rams’ big trade for Chiefs CB Trent McDuffie
Reporting by Cameron DaSilva, Rams Wire / Rams Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
