McDuffie wants to add to Rams’ culture 

(News4usonline) – The Los Angeles Rams finally addressed the elephant in the room. Last season, the Rams were simply not good enough defensively to make it to the Super Bowl. Sure, the Rams got all the way to the threshold of the NFL’s biggest stage. 

The Rams were this close to playing in the Super Bowl, but they got no cigar. That’s because LA could not stop Sam Darnold and Seattle’s offense when it mattered down the stretch of a very close NFC Championship game. 

There’s little doubt that had league MVP Matthew Stafford been able to get his hands on the football with a dash more time at the end of the game, he might have been able to wave his magic wand and guided the Rams to a Super Bowl LV appearance instead of the Seahawks being there. 

In reality, though, the Rams couldn’t get the stops when they needed them. Darnold wound up masquerading as the most valuable player while completing 25 of 36 passes for 346 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-27 win against the Rams. 

To some people that might be somewhat of a surprise, but it should not have been considering how the Rams passing defense played throughout the 2025 NFL season. At best, they were average. 

The Rams ranked 19th in passing last season. The unit even slipped a notch in receiving defense, going down to the 20th spot. The Rams surrendered 377 receptions for the year. 

When you look and compare that number to how the top passing defense in the NFL fared, it’s easy to see why the Rams decided to make an immediate push this offseason to fix this problem. 

The Buffalo Bills gave up just 277 receptions for the season, according to ESPN Stats. That’s like night and day between the No. 1 and No. 20 spots. The Rams wasted little time to address this issue with the opening to the free agency period, trading four draft picks to acquire one of the best defensive backs in the league.  

The Rams wanted to go yard and they hit a home run by trading four draft picks for Trent McDuffie, the All-Pro cornerback from the Kansas City Chiefs. A product of St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California, McDuffie, in his first official press conference as a member of the Rams, spoke about what it’s like returning home to continue to play out his professional football career. 

“It’s special. It’s really special,” McDuffie said. “I haven’t been back really living in Cali in like eight years. I went to college somewhere else and I got drafted. Even just being back here in March and it’s hot. The sun’s out. It’s a beautiful thing. Like I said, the community and support growing up was everything. I wouldn’t be here without my family. I wouldn’t be here without the coaches that allowed me to be in this position.”

McDuffie put himself in the position to be considered as a highly regarded defender. After making a name for himself at St. John Bosco, McDuffie went on to star at the University of Washington. 

He would later become a first-round (21st overall) draft pick of the Chiefs. During his four years with the Chiefs, McDuffie started and played in 56 regular season games, competed in 10 playoff contests, and  became a two-time Super Bowl champion. 

He was selected as All-Pro by Pro Football Focus (2023 second team; first team for 2024) and by the Associated Press ( first team, 2023; second team, 2024). Those accolades in translation simply means the Rams have a bonafide game-changer at the cornerback position. 

“I’m excited and I know they’re excited for the unique ability that I can bring to the team. Like I told them when they’re like, ‘Where do you want to play?’ I’m like, ‘Put me in a position where we succeed and I’m ready to go.’ I’m definitely excited to do some unique things,” McDuffie remarked. 

As a difference-maker on the field, McDuffie bring a slew of intangibles with him to Los Angeles. One measure of his talent is the fact that for the last four seasons, McDuffie has gotten into the baptism by fire arena by going up against quarterback Patrick Mahomes every day in practice. 

Now, McDuffie will test his level of playing football against another great quarterback in Stafford, who was named the MVP for the 2025 regular season. 

Signed, sealed and delivered. ? pic.twitter.com/tkDyHF8jcJ

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) March 12, 2026

“It’s a blessing, honestly,” said McDuffie. “It’s a blessing being able to watch how Patrick Mahomes worked and as a human being, how he carried himself and all the craziness that was going on through Super Bowls and the media and how he was able to be him and be genuine and be steady. That was something that I was able to watch”

In their hunt to shore up their secondary, particularly at the cornerback position, the Rams didn’t stop at getting one high-quality player, Los Angeles also added Jaylen Watson, who played alongside McDuffie at Kansas City. 

Watson played in 53 games for the Chiefs during his four-year tenure, getting the starting nod in 29 of them. McDuffie said he was “stoked” to find out that his former teammate on the Chiefs would be joining him on the Rams. 

“The relationship and the respect I have for ‘J-Wat’ knowing what he’s going to bring to this team, the hard work, the grit, the attitude and the overall swag of being a football player,” McDuffie said. “I think it would be really helpful having both of us in here adding to the culture.” 

KANSAS CITY, MO – DECEMBER 07: Houston Texans wide receiver Nico Collins (12) makes a catch in front of Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie (22) for 46 yards in the first quarter of an NFL game between the Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs on December 7, 2025 at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, MO. (Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire)