Rams At Risk Of Losing Top Free Agent Gem

CBS Sports' Zachary Pereles named McCreary as a free agent gem after McCreary stood out with the Rams.

"Roger McCreary split his season between the Titans and the Rams, and the former second-round pick was PFF's No. 25 cornerback. He has always been a willing tackler. While the coverage metrics have been up and down, he's just 26 years old and he has allowed just four passing touchdowns as the primary defender over the past three seasons combined."

Rams head coach Sean McVay praised McCreary when the trade was executed. The initial move was made for McCreary to be used as a depth piece but injuries quickly piled up, pressing McCreary into service as both a slot corner and on the outside, a position he hasn't played since his rookie season.

“We were looking to be able to add some depth. He was a guy that we respected from playing against him earlier this year. He has some inside-outside flex. [Assistant Head Coach/ Pass Game Coordinator] Aubrey [Pleasant] coached him in the Senior Bowl when he was coming out of Auburn. We're excited to get him in. Nowadays things get out so quickly. It happened and then as soon as you know it, you guys know about it too. I just talked to him."

"He’ll get packed and we'll get him out here and then we'll see what it looks like to be able to get him going for this week, but excited to be able to add him, respect his game from going against him. I've heard great things about the human being from people that have been around him. Aubrey enjoyed coaching him at the Senior Bowl. He'll be able to add some depth to our group and we're excited about it.”

I spoke to Pleasant about the Senior Bowl and it was Pleasant who suggested McCreary to move inside, a position he would excel in as a professional.

"Being a DBs coach, I had done a lot of evaluation of Roger when he was coming out of Auburn, and I remember he was a really, really, really good, productive corner, but I knew that there was a question of whether he would play outside or inside in the league," stated Pleasant. "So not only try to do the kid a favor, but also to do myself a favor for evaluation, I asked him, for the first time in his career, to go inside and play star, play nickel/ slot position, and I just never forget how not only did he embrace the challenge, but for him, who had never been in there, how easy it was to communicate, how easy it was for him to allow the guys around him to trust him."

"A lot of guys, they were either he knew for a long time, or some of them he had just met and I remember his competitive nature, and I remember his coachability, that really struck a chord with me."

McCreary did show up and after returning from injury, his willingness to play any position helped the Rams advance to the NFC title game, with defensive coordinator Chris Shula praising McCreary after the Rams' playoff win over the Chicago Bears.

“He competed and he played tough," stated Shula. "You could tell that he’s played a lot of football. With getting him in later in the season, he's done an excellent job of learning the defense. I thought he communicated really well. I thought he played hard. He showed up when he had to tackle and I thought he competed really hard in the pass game. It was really awesome to see.”

So with half a season under his belt and with Shula and Pleasant set to return, should the Rams extend McCreary, perhaps using him as their third cornerback, especially in run defense? A massive question to ask this offseason.

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