The Los Angeles Rams made a bold move when they signed Jaylen Watson to a three-year, $51 million deal in free agency, doubling down on their investment in the secondary after trading for his Kansas City Chiefs teammate Trent McDuffie. It was a move that needed to happen as Watson's skill, physical attributes, and veteran persona are key traits for the defense Chris Shula is building.
With players already back in the facility for the team's offseason program, several returning players shared their thoughts on Los Angeles' new star defender.
On Monday, safeties Kam Curl and Quentin Lake spoke to reporters, discussing their feelings about what Watson brings to the unit. Curl, who plays a variety of roles, went into both McDuffie and Watson, expressing excitement about adding championship experience to the team.
“I like it. Those dudes are some ball players," he said. "They are going to come help us out. We were just talking today, we all know the ultimate goal. We have to work at it one day at a time. I'm excited for them to be in the building.”
McDuffie and Watson won two Super Bowls with Kansas City, starring in a secondary that was constantly on the front foot playing aggressively – a style Curl enjoys and excels at.
For Lake, someone who plays every snap at the slot corner/star position, not only will he be physically close with Watson, but both defenders must be on the same page as opposing offenses are bound to scheme up plays to test their communication, discipline, and ability to execute plays.
“Seeing him from afar, I love his game," stated Lake. "I love how physical he is. I think having that physicality, especially in the back end, is so important. It's important mentally and it's important physically. At the end of the day, if you have tough, physical players in that back end, it helps that defense so much. To bring in a guy like that who's physical, who's big and who's tough, it's huge. Obviously, I'll get to know him more as a person, but seeing his tape, it's amazing. That's a guy that I'm very glad we got to bring in as an addition to our team.”
For a long time, the Rams haven't had that big, physical presence at corner. Ahkello Witherspoon had length, but Watson brings an added level of toughness. Now that they have it, both Curl and Lake, who signed extensions over the last six months, have the teammate to take their game to the next level.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Rams DBs rave about new CB Jaylen Watson: 'I love his game'