Darious Williams named the Rams' most underrated player for 2024

[Corbin]

Darious Williams named the Rams' most underrated player for 2024

Who is the Rams’ most underrated player heading into the 2024 season?

theramswire.usatoday.com

Darious Williams was viewed as an underrated member of the Los Angeles Rams’ secondary when Jalen Ramsey was also patrolling the defensive backfield at cornerback. Williams may not have been a household name during his first stint with the Rams, but he was still such an integral part of the defense.

Now he’s back and ready to pick up where he left off in Los Angeles. After being cut by the Jaguars this offseason, he has a lot to prove and will help lead a secondary that also features Tre’Davious White and Kamren Curl.

Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire picked every team’s most underrated player heading into the 2024 season and Williams was his selection for the Rams.

Williams is built like a slot-only cornerback at 5-foot-9 and 187 pounds, but he’s been a great outside cornerback for years, and that was just as true in 2023, when he allowed 51 catches on 86 targets for 613 yards, 178 yards after the catch, two touchdowns, four interceptions, 18 pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 69.6. Through his NFL career, Williams has allowed 10 touchdowns to 11 interceptions, and has a lifetime opponent passer rating of 76.7. It’s safe to say that nobody expected that when he came out of college.

Williams is undersized but he excels as an outside cornerback, as Farrar mentioned. The Jaguars played him out of position at times in the last two seasons but now that he’s back in L.A., he should fit back in seamlessly at the boundary corner position opposite White.

The Rams gave him a $22.5 million contract this offseason so he didn’t exactly come cheap, but he should be a worthwhile addition to the defense.

 

[fanotodd]

We had better hope DW is still the player he was the first time around. I have been re-watching last season and that Ram secondary was terrible. Because the Rams were winning down the stretch, it was easier to forgive in the moment, but there were breaks required to win some of those games because the secondary kept screwing up.

The secondary has to make a big jump from last year if the Rams are to seriously compete for a title. A better pass rush is going to help, so there’s that.

 

[OnceARam]

We had better hope DW is still the player he was the first time around. I have been re-watching last season and that Ram secondary was terrible. Because the Rams were winning down the stretch, it was easier to forgive in the moment, but there were breaks required to win some of those games because the secondary kept screwing up.

The secondary has to make a big jump from last year if the Rams are to seriously compete for a title. A better pass rush is going to help, so there’s that.

Yeah, seldom a team signs 3 starting DBs in one offseason.

 

[LARAMSinFeb.]

We had better hope DW is still the player he was the first time around. I have been re-watching last season and that Ram secondary was terrible. Because the Rams were winning down the stretch, it was easier to forgive in the moment, but there were breaks required to win some of those games because the secondary kept screwing up.

The Rams apparently agree with you. They brought in a lot of new blood and let guys walk.

 

[Corbin]

IMO humble opinion I think the chances of DW giving us a really good season is a lot higher than White's ability to. Something just doesn't sit right with me as far as his health issues are concerned. I have doubts he can get back to being close to the player he was and/or not reinjuring himself.

 

[snackdaddy]

Williams, White and Kurl should be a settling influence on the younger DB's. The back end of the defense was the weak link. Too many big plays. I'm guessing they wanted to put more experience back there. There were some blown coverages with the youngsters.

 

[So Ram]

IMO humble opinion I think the chances of DW giving us a really good season is a lot higher than White's ability to. Something just doesn't sit right with me as far as his health issues are concerned. I have doubts he can get back to being close to the player he was and/or not reinjuring himself.

At least you are humble - I drink the kool-aide each season.I’ve seen how players workout & don’t workout.There’s something that is there that makes me believe.