Rams DC explains how Jalen Ramsey is like LeBron James on the field

The Rams made two huge commitments to Jalen Ramsey in the last 12 months. The first, of course, was by trading multiple first-round picks for the star cornerback, despite the fact that he only had a year and a half left on his contract.

The second big step was signing him to a historic $105 million deal, making him the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history. The Rams felt comfortable making both moves because of not only what Ramsey showed throughout his career, but also his potential in L.A.’s scheme.

Through five weeks in Brandon Staley’s system, Ramsey has played a few different roles, from outside corner to the “star” position. He’s thrived in every spot, but has been especially good covering the slot in the last two weeks.

Staley views him as a positionless player, though, and someone who can line up just about anywhere the Rams need him to. He compared Staley to LeBron James, who can play all five spots on the floor.

I think that the way that the game is in the NFL, where the passing game is a lot inside and so much more three-receiver groupings, even in the run game, he can provide a lot that way too in the perimeter run defense,” Staley said this week. “Then, as a rusher because he’s such a good athlete. He’s got such good instincts. He can give you a really good blitz threat too. I think that Jalen Ramsey is a natural player at star. I think that anybody that knows his game going back from when he was in high school knows that this is what he’s capable of doing. I see him like a LeBron James is used in the basketball court, where he’s a positionless player. He plays some point guard, he plays some three, he plays some four, he guards fives and he’s what his team needs to be in that particular game in order for them to be successful. That’s what makes him one of the best players of all time and congratulations to LeBron, a fellow Ohio guy, we’re back in L.A. together. So, excited for him, but I feel like Jalen’s that same way. We’re going to put him where we feel like it’s best and fortunate he’s got skill sets to be able to move him around some.”

It truly is a huge advantage for Staley and the Rams to be able to put Ramsey anywhere he’s needed on the field. If the team’s best receiver plays mostly in the slot – like Golden Tate – Ramsey can cover there. If a tight end is especially good, Ramsey can match up with him, like he could against George Kittle on Sunday night. When the Rams face DK Metcalf and the Seahawks, Ramsey will probably play outside primarily.

His combination of size, speed, instincts and physicality allow him to play anywhere in the secondary – even safety. That’s why the “star” position fits him so well.

“It’s a position that kind of combines several different skillsets,” Staley said. “You’re a little bit of a corner, you’re a little bit of a safety, a little bit of a linebacker – inside linebacker and outside linebacker because you’re kind of a rusher too. So, it’s a spot that you have to possess all those qualities of those four positions. You’ve got to be able to process because things happen quickly inside. So, you need a guy that can see and a guy that can think and operate quickly. So, those are things that he does well. We felt like he’s a defensive back, he’s not just a corner. We feel like he can play a lot of different positions for us and we feel like he fits that role extremely well. It gives us some versatility there and I’ve been pleased with the way he’s played in there.”

Sunday could present a new challenge for Ramsey with Kittle on the other side. He’s by far the 49ers’ best receiving threat, and there may be no better player to have cover him than Ramsey. All eyes will be on that matchup if Staley gives Ramsey the opportunity to shadow the All-Pro tight end.