Perfect offseason trade Rams must make after losing NFC Championship Game

The Los Angeles Rams appeared to be the best team in the NFC for the majority of the season. However, a couple of major mistakes on specials teams cost them in a crucial regular-season game against the Seattle Seahawks, and it cost them even more in the NFC title game against those same Seahawks.

In their Week 16 regular-season game at Seattle, the Rams were dominating and appeared to have an easy victory within their grasp as they led 30-14 with slightly more than 8 minutes to play. The Seahawks needed a spark and it was provided on special teams by Rashid Shaheed, who returned a punt 58 yards for a touchdown. The Seahawks followed with a two-point conversion, another TD and a second two-point conversion to send the game into overtime.

The Seahawks would eventually win the game in overtime and that lost kept the Rams from winning the NFC West title, an honor that went to the Seahawks and they also took the top seed in the NFC playoff structure.

The two teams would get another chance at each other in the NFC title game, and the Rams special teams weakness also came into play in that game.

The Rams had a 24-13 lead in the third quarter and appeared ready to stretch it further because they forced a Seattle punt. Seahawks punter Michael Dickson sent his kick 55 yards to Rams return specialist Xavier Smith. He was unable to catch the ball and muffed that opportunity. The Seahawks recovered the ball at the Rams 17.

One play later, Sam Darnold threw a 17-yard TD pass to wideout Jake Bobo and the Seahawks were back in the game, trailing 24-20 with 12 minutes remaining in the third quarter and plenty of momentum.

Rams clearly need help on special teams and in the secondary

The Rams were prolific when it came to rushing the passer. Thy were able to dominate for large portions of the season because they were able to get to opposing quarterbacks. Most teams will depend on one superior pass rusher who can come up with sacks and other big plays, but the Rams were able to produce multiple big plays from multiple pass rushers.

Linebacker Byron Young proved to be an excellent pass rusher and he led the Rams with 12.0 sacks and he also added 1 forced fumble. Fellow LB Jared Verse had 7.5 sacks, 1 pass batted down and 3 forced fumbles. Edge rusher Kobie Turner had 7.0 sacks, 3 passes batted down and 1 interception. LB Nate Landman had 2.5 sacks, 4 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries.

The Rams were able to turn multiple games in their favor with their pass rush. However, their secondary was vulnerable. In the NFC Championship Game, Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold figured out how to get the best of the Los Angeles secondary. He threw for 346 yards with 3 TDs and no interceptions.

The Rams need to improve their coverage, and they should go after Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie in a trade. He has played four years with the Chiefs since he was drafted out of Washington in 2022. He had stellar seasons in 2023 and ’24 as he was an All-Pro first-team cornerback and followed that up with a 2nd-team performance.

He may have been a step below last season, but that’s largely because the Chiefs fell from their elite perch and became a losing team.

McDuffie would give the Rams the kind of excellent coverage they need in the secondary.

Rams need to go after a sharp return specialist

The Rams clearly had issues on special teams and they have to address them. One of the top candidates they need to look at is Parker Washington of the Jacksonville Jaguars

Washington finished the season as the Jaguars leading receiver, but his 58 catches for 847 yards and 5 TDs is not an overly impressive number for the most productive wideout on the team. As a result, the Jaguars don’t have to look at Washington’s ability at that position as something they must protect.

However, he has displayed elite skills when it comes to returning punts. He returned 25 punts for 341 yards and he turned 2 of those into touchdowns. The Rams could clearly use a return specialist like Washington, and it would be worth it to make a trade so they could bring Washington into the Rams fold.

In addition to Washington, the Rams may want to consider Isaiah Williams of the New York Jets.  Williams is also a receiver and he caught 26 passes for 193 yards during the season. While those are not eye-opening totals, his work as a return specialist was fairly spectacular. He returned 28 punts for 396 yards and 2 of his returns went for touchdowns.

He also did an impressive jobs returning kickoffs, take 28 kickoffs for 837 yards that included a long return of 83 yards.
A player like Washington or Williams might give the Rams the talent needed in the return game to get past a team like the Seahawks.

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