Do Rams Have the Best Secondary in NFC West?

The NFC West is all too familiar with high-end, historic secondaries that have dominated the NFL landscape.

There was the Legion of Boom in the mid-2010s, surperior defensive back rooms by the Los Angeles Rams throughout the late-2010s and early-2020s, and the hard-hitting secondaries of the San Francisco 49ers throughout the last decade and a half.

The Rams feature a secondary that has remained squarely intact from last season with much of the production and talents returning with minimal to no additions. It is a group with a great mixture of youth and veterans that showed vast improvement toward the end of the season as Los Angeles got deep into the postseason.

Starting outside cornerbacks Cobie Durant, Darious Williams, and Ahkello Witherspoon make up a sufficient rotation on the perimeter with Josh Wallace and Quinten Lake playing key roles at nickelback. Safeties Kamren Curl and second-year Kamren Kinchens complete a secondary filled with depth and quality players. Are they the best secondary in the NFC West?

The reigning division champions group is a solid one that could continue to improve if they end up trading for Jalen Ramsey. Until that is the case, the aforementioned question is up for debate.

I look at the Arizona Cardinals and what they could become down the line as an ever-improving team on the cusp of consistent playoff contention. Despite knee concerns, Will Johnson was a blue-chip prospect in this year's draft and could become an absolute steal in the second round. Max Melton and Garrett Williams are young yet progressing players with Jalen Thompson at safety next to the great Budda Baker, who is among the best at his position every year.

The Seattle Seahawks are slowly becoming a stout unit on the backend of their defense and having Mike Macdonald as head coach helps the progression of the group. Tariq Woolen and Josh Jobe man the outside spots with talented nickel defender Devon Witherspoon growing into a quality player. Julian Love and Coby Bryant are the projected starters at safety with rookie Nick Emmanwori likely to play a significant role.

Then, the San Francisco 49ers seem to have a unit that is young and somewhat unproven to the untrained eye. Malik Mustapha could be an absolute force playing downhill from depth while continuing to add more production in coverage next to Ji'Ayir Brown. Renardo Green is an intriguing defender at nickel while Tre Brown and Deommodore Lenoir man the perimeter spots in Robert Saleh's defense.

There is a case for the Rams to be the best secondary in the NFC West but only if they pull off the trade for Ramsey, who spent several years with the franchise before his current tenure with the Miami Dolphins. Yet, I have to side with the Seahawks.

This group is on the cusp of being one of the best secondaries in the entire league. This won't be anywhere close to what the Leigon of Boom was and there likely never will be something as bright and powerful as that group was but the young players of this secondary fit perfectly for what the Seahawks want to do defensively. Witherspoon looks like the X-factor of the group as his ceiling is sky-high with potential.