Sean McVay said he’s already pleased with how the Rams secondary is being taught and how it’s moving in the early OTAs, emphasizing the group’s versatility and the feedback the players are able to give during practice.
WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. — There wasn’t much time to get everything perfect in last Thursday’s Rams Organized Team Activity. No live contact. A seven-on-seven setting. Even so. it still gave head coach Sean McVay a real look at the secondary—how it was moving and operating on foundational. conceptual ground.
What he saw early in OTAs has him encouraged.
“Guys are learning really all the spots on the back end. no different than really when (offensive line coach) Ryan Wendell cross trains our guys from the inside to outside. ” McVay said after last Thursday’s OTA. “You’re seeing (cornerback) Trent McDuffie all over. There are certain guys that’ll play just safety or just play outside corner. but then you got a lot of guys that can play safety. they can play the star position.
they can play dime. money. But we’re teaching concepts and so that flexibility and that understanding of what are the core coverage contours that we want to play?. What does that look like out of three-down. out of four-down front mechanics out of some of the known rush packages?. But I’ve really been pleased with the trajectory of the teaching progression and then the guys’ ability to be able to give the feedback. show it
in some of these jogthroughs. and then we’ve done some seven on where that’s tilted towards the offense.”.
McVay’s point about McDuffie being “all over” lines up with how he was used last season. Pro Football Focus charted McDuffie playing 479 snaps at cornerback, compared to 209 in the slot/box or on the defensive line last season.
Position versatility is also tied to safety Quentin Lake, who plays the star position as well. McVay described flexibility in the defensive backfield as a way to unlock different configurations.
The first week of OTAs doesn’t close the book on anything. There’s still a long runway before the start of the regular season, and then training camp after that. Last week was only the first week of OTAs, and McVay kept that in mind when he talked about progress.
Still, he liked what it’s already turning into on the practice field.
“I think we’ve had some really good competitive plays defensively that I’ve been really proud of those guys and I just like the competitiveness and I like the connection of the group that you can feel,” McVay said.
Sean McVay Rams OTAs secondary Trent McDuffie Quentin Lake Ryan Wendell organized team activity three-down front four-down front