The Rams and Chiefs employed vastly different defensive schemes last season. Naturally, their cornerbacks boasted contrasting skill sets.

Former Chiefs, now Rams cornerbacks Jaylen Watson at 6-foot-2, 197 pounds and Trent McDuffie at 5-11, 193 are physical players and top-tier athletes. Apart from Ahkello Witherspoon, who missed the majority of the season due to injury, no Rams cornerback weighed over 191 pounds last season, or stood over 6 feet tall. Watson and McDuffie offer stronger tackling and a more pronounced ability to press at the line and then stay tight to a variety of receivers throughout their routes, according to defensive expert and creator of matchquarters.com Cody Alexander.

The Rams' smaller corners were poorly suited to succeed at that aggressive play style, but excelled with a wider cushion that enabled them to break on the ball. As smart, fast players, Watson and McDuffie can play that way as well, but are at their best in close quarters.

Still, the obvious question is why did the Rams add two Chiefs cornerbacks to their roster to kick off free agency if they don't have experience playing in a scheme like Los Angeles'?

Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula's belief is that schemes should cater to players' strengths. Watson and McDuffie's could "unleash" the rest of the Rams defense without requiring a fundamental overhaul to their playbook, according to Alexander.

"(They are) really cleaning up that corner room to unleash the two safeties (Kam Curl and Quentin Lake) that I think they feel really good about, and then I think they also feel good about where they are at linebacker," Alexander said. "And if we can get a little bit of stickier coverage, and then we can also have a better tackling on the perimeter, then I think that what you are going to see is that they can really unleash that front."

The Rams could still run a primary pattern-match system, which starts out in zone and turns into man as the play unfolds and route concepts are recognized. Watson and McDuffie's physicality and ability to play press coverage would allow middle-field defenders and deep safeties to focus more on their responsibilities and less on helping the perimeter corners, Alexander explained.

Here are two pass plays defended with similar technique that yielded opposite results.

Against the Jaguars in Weeks 5, McDuffie hand checked wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. (6-2, 209) early in his route. He stayed glued to him as Thomas ran an intermediate dig and then dove to break up the pass at the tail end. It seemed as though McDuffie's press coverage, which forced a prolonged release from Thomas, also disrupted quarterback Trevor Lawrence's timing, as he took an extra forward shuffle before letting the ball go. McDuffie required zero help from the rest of the secondary.

Let's compare that to a similar rep from Rams cornerback Emmanuel Forbes Jr. against the Lions in Week 15. He also lines up in press coverage against speedy wideout Jameson Williams, but instead of laying hands on Williams like McDuffie did to Thomas, he took a drop step and gave Williams inside leverage. He took it and sped across the middle on a dig route, and Forbes couldn't keep up. The play-action fake drew in two safeties, Curl and Jaylen McCollough, who seemed out of position and tried to backtrack mid-play, but it was too late. It resulted in a 22-yard gain.

Those receivers ran the same route against similar coverage structures, but the mindset of the defenders was different. McDuffie wanted to stay attached to Thomas and influence his movement throughout the route, whereas Forbes aimed to give Williams a cushion and then break on the ball if the pass came. Had he employed McDuffie's approach against Williams (who is tall but not big at 6-1, 182 and therefore vulnerable against more aggressive defenders), it may have given McCollough enough time to recover and help in the zone that was originally assigned to him.

It's not clear whether Forbes was told to play with that technique or chose to do so, but a more belligerent approach likely would have changed the landscape of the entire play, and that's what McDuffie can provide.

Watson shares that attitude, and his build is even more conducive to defending larger targets. Unsurprisingly, Watson and McDuffie rank sixth and 11th, respectively, in tight window rate (one yard of separation or less at the catch point), among cornerbacks with at least 1,000 coverage snaps since 2022, according to Next Gen Stats.

Curl, who the Rams recently re-signed to a three-year deal, could be one of the main beneficiaries of those additions.

"I think it really unlocks Curl to really be that Joker or that enforcer that he really was at the back half of the year when they really just started blitzing him a lot more," Alexander said. "Because anytime you are going to drop a safety into the box... you are going to put stress on your corners."

McDuffie and Watson can handle that stress, which also frees up inside linebacker Nate Landman and safety/star Quentin Lake to be more versatile. It opens to door for more blitzes as well as simulated pressures (where a lineman drops back and a linebacker or defensive back rushes). Both former Chiefs blitz often and are fierce rushers out of the secondary.

Among cornerbacks with 20-plus tackle attempts last season, McDuffie registered the fourth-lowest missed tackle rate in the league (4.5%) and Watson had the 10th-lowest (7.2%), according to Next Gen Stats. The Rams' only cornerback with a sub-10% missed tackle rate was Darious Williams at 7.4%, who recently retired. Watson said in his introductory press conference that tackling, specifically in the run game, is all about having the right mindset, and it's one he and McDuffie both share.

"You either want to or you don't," Watson said. "You tell yourself you can't (tackle), you're right. You tell yourself you can, and you're right. So I just go out there, put my head down. This is football, it's a physical sport, and just be physical. Put violence on tape."

In the pass game, that violence is accentuated when corners can put hands on receivers early in the route, specifically within five yards of the line of scrimmage to avoid a penalty.

The Chiefs ran the highest rate of outside press coverage in the league last season at 45.8% so Watson and McDuffie could do just that. The Rams ran it just 22.9% of the time, ranking 17th, according to Next Gen Stats. This is not necessarily an indication that the Rams will suddenly become the one of the most press-heavy secondaries in the league, but it likely warrants an increase in that smothering style on the outside.

While neither player explicitly said how their previous usage might dictate their roles with L.A., they both indicated that Rams coaches are excited to implement skills they've prized in the past.

"They love what I have to offer for the team and I'm ready to put it on tape and get to work," Watson said.

"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,'" McDuffie added. "I'm definitely excited to do some unique things."

Then there's the question of whether McDuffie will play in the slot or outside. He's done both at a high level in the NFL, and he's ready to do both, either or more with the Rams.

"It doesn't matter where you put me. I'll play safety, I'll put my hand in the dirt if I have to," McDuffie said. "I hope I don't have to, but truly I'm out here wanting to play ball. No matter where you put me, I'm going to work day in and day out to make sure that I do my job at a very high level."

Alexander's thought process was that McDuffie could be used as a chess piece of sorts. The Rams played the highest rate of dime in the league last year (six defensive backs) at 32.4%. In those packages, McDuffie and Lake could both play inside, giving the Rams two versatile defensive backs on the interior who can rush the passer and defend the run as well as the pass.

The versatile All-Pro could also help the Rams match up against 21, 12 and 13 personnel sets out of smaller defensive packages like nickel, which was a calling card of the 2025 Super Bowl-champion Seahawks.

However the Rams choose to deploy Watson and McDuffie, they will bring a different skill set that can complement and even elevate the rest of this defense.