Rams have safety talent to overcome loss of John Johnson
The Los Angeles Rams suffered their first major blow of the offseason on Monday when John Johnson agreed to a three-year deal with the Cleveland Browns. Johnson was arguably the Rams’ top free agent, even if he was always somewhat unlikely to re-sign with the team that drafted him four years ago.
His departure isn’t something that caught the Rams off-guard, of course. They prepared for this long ago, even dating back to the 2019 draft. And for that reason, they have not only the talent, but also the depth to survive the loss of Johnson in the secondary.
In 2019, the Rams drafted Taylor Rapp in the second round. While he was initially viewed as a future replacement for Eric Weddle, he also serves the same purpose with Johnson – and he even filled in for Johnson during the 2019 season.
A year later, the Rams double-dipped at safety: Terrell Burgess in Round 3 and Jordan Fuller in the sixth round. While Fuller was seen as a developmental player, he immediately became a starter from Week 1 and was one of the Rams’ most important starters on defense last season. Burgess began to showcase his skills before breaking his ankle in October, boasting great position versatility in the secondary.
Burgess, Fuller and Rapp are all starting-caliber players and the three should play meaningful snaps next season on defense. And behind them are two other talented players in Nick Scott and JuJu Hughes.
The depth is undoubtedly there for the Rams when it comes to replacing Johnson. They have plenty of bodies on the depth chart and won’t have trouble finding someone to take his spot. It’s replacing Johnson’s production, leadership and instincts that will be challenging.
Johnson relayed the Rams’ defensive plays to his teammates on the field and hardly ever came off the field as a result. He helped get everyone aligned, called out defensive assignments and regularly made impressive plays in the open field on ball carriers.
Those traits won’t be easy to replace, but at least the Rams have the depth and talent pool to hopefully find someone who can step up and at least come close to replicating Johnson’s impact at some point down the line.
