Is this going to be the year that David Long, Jr steps up for the Rams secondary?

Is this going to be the year that David Long, Jr steps up for the Rams secondary?

A former third round pick, Long’s never had such a clear opportunity to contribute to the defense

www.turfshowtimes.com

Is this going to be the year that David Long, Jr steps up for the Rams secondary?​

With the 79th pick of the 2019 NFL Draft, the LA Rams selected cornerback David Long, Jr. out of Michigan. The 5’11, 187 lb defensive back had played two full seasons for the Wolverines, recording 37 tackles, three interceptions, and 12 passes defended over 24 college games.

But Long took his resume to another level at the combine, running an insane 6.45 in the three-cone drill — 0.25 faster than second-place among the cornerbacks. Chase Stuart at Football Perspective took it a step further, citing that based on Long’s height and weight, he ran 0.52 seconds faster than expected and that was the largest difference of any prospect in the entire draft.

As you can imagine, heavier players fare much worse in the 3-cone drill, and taller players have a slight advantage, too. Here was the best-fit formula from the 2019 combine:

Expected 3-Cone Drill = 7.4183 – 0.0287 * Height (Inches) + 0.0081 * Weight (Pounds)

Michigan defensive back David Long, who posted the fastest (but not the best) time in he dominated in the short shuttle, finishing in 6.45 seconds, the fastest time in the drill. Given his dimensions — 71 inches, 196 pounds — he’d be expected to complete the drill in 6.97 seconds. Therefore, Ford finished the drill in 0.52 seconds better than expected, the best adjusted performance in this drill.

Long also tied for the eighth-fastest 40 and fifth-highest vertical among corners at the 2019 NFL Scouting Combine, with respectable numbers on the broad jump and bench reps. His 3.97 short shuttle was also first. It’s plenty comparable to many of the athletic draftees that Les Snead selected earlier this month.

However, two seasons into his career, Long has only played in 225 defensive snaps. Jamel Dean, a cornerback who was selected by the Buccaneers 15 picks after the Rams took Long, has played in 1,078 snaps over 27 career games and has become a solid outside corner for the reining defending champs. Dean has dealt with injuries in both years but seems to be a third round steal for Tampa Bay.

Now is Long’s chance to try and catch up to Dean and any other corners picked two years ago.

With Troy Hill signing in Cleveland to join the Browns, there is a clear opening at cornerback and no clear player to replace him. The team kept Donte Deayon again but he’s yet to earn a full-time role anywhere on the 53-man roster and is now 27 years old. Snead drafted Robert Rochell in the fourth round, but he remains an unknown for at least a few more months.

The only other clear competitor to work in the slot — or on the outside if Darious Williams or Jalen Ramsey ever need to slide into the nickel — would be Terrell Burgess. Drafted in 2020 as a safety, Burgess was known to have the versatility to compete at corner.

The clear frontrunner should be Long, but will that still be the case in August?

 

[Mister Sin]

I dont think so. I think they drafted Rochell for a reason.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

If he’s competing with Burgess, I’d say no. He’s been playing for 3 years and Burgess looked better in his first year than Long looked in year three.

He likely subs again.

It’s not like we’ve seen a steady improvement in Long’s play over the years. He’s not on the Darius Williams trajectory.

 

[RamsJunkie]

I had really really high hopes for the kid when we drafted him. Looked like a good sticky man cover corner from his college tape. Really don't know why the kid hasn't been able to put it together. Hasn't had much a chance with real game action. Maybe hes lazy and thought the job was just gonna be handed to him? Its about the only explanation I can come up with because the kids got the talent.

 

[shovelpass]

Long has been very quiet in his 2 years as a pro, I'm shocked to learn that he has played as much as he has. Played 76% of the snaps vs MIA. Can anyone remember him making a positive play on defense? Or even a bad one? This one play stands out, blown coverage by him and Rapp. Long is bottom of the screen. Could've gone for 6.


Personally I see Long as the 4th CB again this season.

 

[Tano]

Long has been very quiet in his 2 years as a pro, I'm shocked to learn that he has played as much as he has. Played 76% of the snaps vs MIA. Can anyone remember him making a positive play on defense? Or even a bad one? This one play stands out, blown coverage by him and Rapp. Long is bottom of the screen. Could've gone for 6.


Personally I see Long as the 4th CB again this season.

That one appears that it could have been a blown coverage by Rapp - Long let him go thinking he had safety help over the top.

Or it was a misread by both Long and Rapp.

Don't know who was at fault on that one.

 

[12intheBox]

I think Long gets meaningful snaps before Rochell does, unless Rochell just polishes very quickly. I'm not sure either of them are going to be getting all that many sans injury.

 

[RamFan503]

If he’s competing with Burgess, I’d say no. He’s been playing for 3 years and Burgess looked better in his first year than Long looked in year three.

He likely subs again.

It’s not like we’ve seen a steady improvement in Long’s play over the years. He’s not on the Darius Williams trajectory.

Isn't THIS going to be his 3rd year? The guy had DWill, JRam, and THill in front of him. Granted, he couldn't jump those players but that doesn't mean he can't be the guy in the slot - where I figured he'd mostly play when we drafted him - in his third season.

I expected more from him when we drafted him. Alas, the NFL is a different league and he hasn't been all that. I still have hope for the kid and in reality, we will probably need him to step up as I think Rochelle is going to be a work in progress and is a pick for next season more than this season. But of course.... I'm probably wrong there too.

 

[RamFan503]

That one appears that it could have been a blown coverage by Rapp - Long let him go thinking he had safety help over the top.

Or it was a misread by both Long and Rapp.

Don't know who was at fault on that one.

Yeah... that's what it appears to me as well. It may have been a misread by Long (hard to say) but it was a huge mistake by Rapp.

 

[TSFH Fan]

Dude played almost all man coverage in college, right? The Rams have become a zone heavy defense since he was drafted. It could be that he just needs reps to learn zone. Or, playing zone at the NFL level might be beyond him and it just might be a case of a bad scheme fit.

So far, it seems closer to bad scheme fit.

 

[shovelpass]

That one appears that it could have been a blown coverage by Rapp - Long let him go thinking he had safety help over the top.

Or it was a misread by both Long and Rapp.

Don't know who was at fault on that one.

Yeah... that's what it appears to me as well. It may have been a misread by Long (hard to say) but it was a huge mistake by Rapp.

There's definitely a miscommunication there, its never a good sign when 2 defenders are giving each other the "what?" look after a big play. As I said in my post Rapp does deserve blame but without knowing the coverages it's hard to solely blame one person.

 

[Merlin]

The only real knock I have on Long is he seems to lack the aggressiveness I like in my corners. He's... I don't want to say timid, but I think the guy needs to be more aggressive. It really shows when he was used as a gunner last year, he was pretty bad and one of the reasons why they drafted ST types this year. He was out there in a reasonable number of depth snaps last year too and didn't really stand out which is part of the problem.

But I wouldn't rule him out because what he did at Michigan shows what he can do. And not every corner is a ballhawk type. Rams definitely seem to prefer that skillset but there's plenty of room for a guy who can force incompletions at a high enough rate. Maybe this will be his year and if so that would be great because we have 2 more years of first contract affordability left with him.

 

[RamFan503]

And not every corner is a ballhawk type. Rams definitely seem to prefer that skillset but there's plenty of room for a guy who can force incompletions at a high enough rate. Maybe this will be his year and if so that would be great because we have 2 more years of first contract affordability left with him.

Ramsey is not really a ball hawk. He shuts down his side really well but doesn't come up with turn overs like some that allow big plays in exchange for numbers ala Peters. I actually think they value shut down corners over ball hawks.

 

[Merlin]

Ramsey is not really a ball hawk. He shuts down his side really well but doesn't come up with turn overs like some that allow big plays in exchange for numbers ala Peters. I actually think they value shut down corners over ball hawks.

Maybe so. Not sure where I built that belief I have that they like ballhawks but you are right re: Ramsey, he's never really been a high INT type.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Isn't THIS going to be his 3rd year? The guy had DWill, JRam, and THill in front of him. Granted, he couldn't jump those players but that doesn't mean he can't be the guy in the slot - where I figured he'd mostly play when we drafted him - in his third season.

I expected more from him when we drafted him. Alas, the NFL is a different league and he hasn't been all that. I still have hope for the kid and in reality, we will probably need him to step up as I think Rochelle is going to be a work in progress and is a pick for next season more than this season. But of course.... I'm probably wrong there too.

So you think he beats Burgess after Burgess showed more potential in his first year than Long has in two?

 

[FrantikRam]

So you think he beats Burgess after Burgess showed more potential in his first year than Long has in two?

I think Rapp will play LB on 3rd downs, which means Burgess would play safety. NCB between Long, Deayon and the UDFA Brontae Harris

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

I think Rapp will play LB on 3rd downs, which means Burgess would play safety. NCB between Long, Deayon and the UDFA Brontae Harris

I’m sure we will see Long some. They got him snaps last year. I’m not certain if that’s because Burgess was injured though. So was Rapp and Fuller.

If Jones provides better coverage or Howard does the Rapp can play SS even on passing downs, which would be better for him. So then if Fuller plays FS Burgess plays slot. Then Ramsey and Williams play corner. On dime we’d see Scott brought in. Maybe Long will battle Scott for dime packages along with Rochelle.

 

[RamsJunkie]

Looks like Nickell Robey-Coleman is still a FA. Wouldn't mind bringing him back in to play Nickle I would think he would come cheap at this point.

 

[Allen2McVay]

Looks like Nickell Robey-Coleman is still a FA. Wouldn't mind bringing him back in to play Nickle I would think he would come cheap at this point.

Thought Coleman was terrific in 2017 on a one-year bargain-deal. That earned him a new contract but I thought his play declined in 2018 and 2019, leading to the Rams releasing him.

Not much left on the CB-market. Thought that was a need-area this off-season, with little depth and no proven corners behind the top two (Ramsey and Williams). Usually need more than two cornerbacks.

There are some options but none can be termed "proven commodities as CBs". Maybe Burgess fills the third-CB role. Hopeful Long can step-up into a more prominent role. Maybe Rochell can contribute as a rookie. Maybe Deayon can make the team but he is the same size as Atwell.

Brian Poole remains a solid player but he (like Robey-Coleman) is best in the slot. Ramsey has stated that one of the factors for his successful 2020 season was the position flexibility of Troy Hill that allowed Ramsey to play both inside and outside depending upon match-ups and game-plan. Whomever is expected to step-up (or signed), I hope that player can offer some position flexibility.

 

[RamFan503]

So you think he beats Burgess after Burgess showed more potential in his first year than Long has in two?

Good point. I think Long is more of a pure corner but he's going to have to show he can play. It may just be that I really liked the pick at the time and still have higher expectations than what he's showed.