Rams Sign John Johnson III, 2024 Secondary Depth Chart, Position Battles, Most Import Rams & More!

the Rams bring back John Johnson the Third how big of an impact will that have on the ram secondary we've got the ram secondary heading into the 2024 season and we begin our countdown of the top 20 most important Rams entering the 2024 season that's coming up next on lock on [Music] Rams you are locked on Rams your daily Los Angeles Rams podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your Team every day what is up Ramy and welcome to another episode of lockon rams your daily podcast covering your Los Angeles Rams free and available revor podcast locked on Rams part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day we're also available over on YouTube so if you haven't yet do us a huge favor and subscribe to the fastest growing Rams YouTube channel hit that subscribe button hit that notification Bell hit that like button and also let us know what is your reaction to the Rams bringing back John Johnson III my name is Doug McCain friends call me dmac you can follow me on X and Instagram dmac corla I've been covering LA Sports for over a decade 247 Sports bleach report Dodgers Nation the Rams for lock on as always I'm joined by the Rams prea and postgame show host for the Rams flagship radio station ESPN 710 La he's entering his ninth season cover your Los Angeles Rams he's known the streets as the people's champ Mr Travis Rogers you can follow him on the X at Travis Rogers and on today's show the Rams bring back John Johnson I third what will his role be we're going to take a look at that Ram secondary we're going to start our countdown for the top 20 most important Rams entering the 2024 season but first this episode of lockdown Rams is brought to you by FanDuel FanDuel make every moment more as the playoffs wind down the Sports Stop sporting like we want them to but this summer FanDuel is hooking up all customers with a boost for a bonus daily that's right there's something for everyone every day all summer long visit fanduel.com to get started all right Travis so we're going to dive into the reigning of John Johnson II but first ESP PN did a report about dieting and players diets and I don't if you saw this but pukaa does not like eating vegetables I eat watermelon and I eat pineapples because when it comes to vegetables I'm like I'm not getting it from veggies I don't do any of those instead he replaces those with the fruits so hey first all I got to say is if I was a kid I'd be using this and saying hey Mom see puko he doesn't eat vegetables hey look how big and strong he he's a great NFL player but yeah no veggies for pugan niua yeah I I'm with you if I were a kid I'd be adding that to my arguments as to why I don't need to clear my plate of the squash and broccoli I I certainly understand that let me just say this and P akua is a healthy young vibrant Dynamic wide receiver and I'm sure that he's going to uh he's going to be great all over again there does become a point in your life where those things become a necessary evil even if you don't necessarily like them you need to keep everything moving you need to make sure that all the stuff that you get from nonf fruit related fiber sources are a part of your diet so enjoy it while you can puka because it doesn't last forever in anybody uh throw some kale on that plate my man man for sure I love snpp I mean Tomatoes you know I love these some vegetables but the thing is I ruin it because I like dous it in like whatever ranch or whatever dip is available so it just cancels it out whatever the good parts of it but still yeah yeah he'll he'll learn M he'll be like first B Hall of Fame he starts eating vegetables regularly so defitely something to think about but the Rams they bring back John Johnson the third I think really the interesting thing about Johnson is the role he's going to have for this team when you look at the de because Jordan Fuller he's gone if you look at last season Russ ye started the first nine games and then John Johnson he comes in and towards the end of the season he was looking like the John Johnson the third of old and I think this kind of speaks to his relationship with this Rams team this organization he said before that sha McVey is the best coach he's ever played for he only wants to play for the Rams so great culture guy there's the familiarity Factor he knows the system and he's also great depth if any of these guys go down so really is an insurance policy that has the upside to start has proven that in the past yeah I think what this is is a basic level of Competency that you can always count on right that you'd like to maybe be a little bit better at that position that maybe you'd want you know a little more upside to use the terminology but you know exactly what you're getting with John Johnson maybe it's not an allpro caliber player there but you know what you can count on and this is the thing you hear coaches talk about this whether it's in the NFL the NBA Major League Baseball or whatever it is C can I book on what you're going to give me do I know the performance that you're going to give me more often than not that's incredibly valuable to a coach that that the idea the guy that gives you an a half the time and a c half the time is not as valuable as a guy that gives you a b every time because I can count on the guy that gives me a b every time it may average out to the same thing but the guy that shows up and gives me the same performance week after week you know game after game is an incredible valuable player and I think that's what John Johnson does is just a base level of Competency and and anybody that has listened to this program the everyday or certainly know this I use the word competent as an incredibly High compliment I I think that being able to give the same performance day after day week after week month after month is a great skill and I think he can do that yeah confident in the NFL means you're doing something at your job better than most people on the planet so it's definitely not a slight or anything like that and you look at the bargain they got him for a little over a million dollars last year signed that big deal with the Browns 3 years 33.75 million really didn't work out in the scheme that they were using him in but the Rams last season he proved that he can do again this year what he did last year where he doesn't have to start to start this season if he does that either means one they suffered some injuries two guys didn't work out or play up to their potential like they had hoped but to have a guy that doesn't necessarily need to start but can start I think it's big for a team like the Rams cuz last season he played in 17 games made eight starts had two picks with 42 total tackles had six packs breakups that was the most since 2020 so he does still have something left in the tank and I think for John Johnson the third great culture guy fans love him and I love the way too he was hinting at it if you saw us on his Instagram on social media he was doing a little Jordan belf for stuff from The Wolf of Wall Street like I'm not effing leaving I'm not effing leaving so creativity him too so great have back in the horns yeah it is and look this is one of the things that you you never really want to talk about that you never really uh you know it feels like you're bringing bad luck into the conversation but the fact of the matter is you're going to need depth pieces guys that you never plan on starting guys that you hope don't have to start or going to start that your depth becomes incredibly valuable nobody goes through the season with the 22 starters they have and finishes it with the same 22 guys if if you can get through with you know 15 or 16 you've done a really good job what fact of the matter is you're probably down in the 12 13 14 range so having a guy that you can put in there maybe maybe as a depth piece but maybe as an emergency starter maybe to put somebody in there like you mentioned dmac who isn't performing at the level that you hoped and you want to get back to that basic competency level John Johnson checks a lot of those boxes yeah we're g to dive into his role and what this means specifically for some of the other Rams players on this secondary but before we get there I think too it's really important for Chris schula to have guys like John Johnson in his first year as defensive coordinator Aaron Donald he's no longer here for now pray that that changes but having guys like that in the culture Chris schula I think it's to his best advantage to lean on guys like John Johnson I third guys that players respect to really have a good start to his career because I think that's what of the biggest questions entering this season he's going to need all the help that he can get and Johnson definitely is additive in that respect yeah I think you're right I'm glad you brought that up I hadn't really thought of it like that but you're 100% right that there are a lot of new faces in this defense there's a lot of new guys that are going to be asked to me do different things and having somebody that has been through it somebody that you can rely on like we've talked about especially as a first-time coach I I I you brought it up too I you know this is something we should probably talk about in depth at another point on lock on Rams it's just Chris schula's role on this team and what the expectations are that Rahe Morris was a dude right he was a a head coach that was running half of your team that is no longer there and a lot of that's going to land on schula the more veterans he has around the better totally agree because that is something that could percolate and grow into a social media type of topic if the Rams defense struggles McVey is just hiring his buddies his cronies will start so quickly it'll spread like wildfire so yeah it's definitely important for him to get off to a good start and really take advantage of this talent that they brought in because they've definitely infused this defense with some secondary Talent the question is will they hit on them but coming up next I think the most important part of this is what does John Johnson being back with the Rams mean for the other Rams in the secondary that's coming up next here on lock on Rams all right let's talk a little bit about FanDuel dmac right you know how much I love sports you love sports we love them so much that you never want it to stop right but as the playoffs wind down we're just about into the the middle of the summer right which means there's a lot going on we get fewer games maybe but the sports aren't sportsing the way that you want them to n that's not true not a FanDuel let you keep the sports going whenever you want all you have to do is open the app and dream up bets anytime you want and you are good to go this summer FanDuel is hooking up everybody all customers with a boost or a bonus daily you heard me right daily there's something for everyone every day all summer long so head over to fanduel.com and start making the most out of your summer fandu the official sports betting partner of Major League Baseball there is golf at FanDuel you know what I've kind of found myself into people are going to think I'm making this up if you've ever heard me talk about this before soccer right I got into the Euros I got into Copa all of these things and FanDuel well let's just say FanDuel had a lot to do with me becoming a soccer fan all of a sudden FanDuel the official sports betting partner of Major League Baseball and just basically having an awesome time and we are off and running here on lockon Rams thank you for making lockon Rams your first listen every single weekday free and available rever GE your podcast lockon Rams part of lockon podcast Network your team every day just a reminder we're at three shows a week up until July 15th and that's what we'll be back to full-time Monday through Friday so definitely be on the lookout for that also too we're going to be start doing some mailbag episodes again so if you want your question answered on a Friday edition of lockdown Rams be sure to drop those questions down below and Travis and I will dive into those also a super shout out to our everyday listeners out there want to thank you for watching and listening to every single episode of Locked on Rams if you haven't yet join that everyday listeners Club too a little pre-training Camp special right now membership right now is 100% free you have to watch and listen to every single episode and you won't miss a thing about your Los Angeles Rams all right Travis picking it up in the second section here talk a little secondary death but really picking up on John Johnson so he's not guaranteed a starting spot or anything like that the question is how will this kind of trickle down because if you look at what role he'll play Cameron curl he's going to be one of the two starting safeties Quenton Lake I think is the big question here because he's basically going to be switching positions from slot Corner y had in some star last year to the safety spot he's going to be in the mix for a first team role and then Cameron Kens who they drafted out of the U he's someone that is going to try to push for playing time as well so Russ yeast he was a starter over the first half of the year and then he ends up getting supplanted by John Johnson the second half he's supposed to go to the star roll too so a lot of big questions for this Ram secondary heading into the season I think John Johnson is someone who's just going to be waiting in the wings for his opportunity if something doesn't go right for one of the Rams they expect to start in one of those rols I think that's exactly right I I think this is a okay we have John Johnson who we know can do this let's see what these other guys are capable of doing we'll talk about uh like Lake for instance you talk about taking him out of that slot corner and putting him into a safety position potentially if it works fantastic now you have some depth at that position if it doesn't Johnson gives you some flexibility there kitens and some other guys that You' mentioned all of these are intriguing ideas all of these are players that you hope hit hope take that step to that next level or ready to step into the NFL and and you know depending on who we're talking about individually but what I think Johnson does specifically is it allows everybody to learn on the job a little bit for a period of time again the Rams are in that window right the Rams are trying to win right now the Rams I think kind of Juiced the system by getting into the playoffs maybe a little bit ahead of time a year ago and now it's no more learning right it's no more well let's see how this goes after a month or two let's see how this looks like after week six or seven the pressure is going to be on no Aaron Donald new offensive coord or defensive coordinator excuse me and all of a sudden you've got all these guys are going to be asked to be doing things for maybe a big difference to maybe a slight difference and the more guys you have that can fit more spots like a Johnson the better off that you are yeah he's only 20 years old right it's not like he's old or anything like that he presumably has a lot more tread on the tires and he's also hungry and happy to be back again for the third time with this organization so I think it really comes down to one the fact that he's a massive upgrade and he's better than Jason Taylor so what does that mean for Jason Taylor and then two if you do move Lake back to Nickel then he's competing with with kinchin for starting reps there at the safety spot because we know curl's going to be starting at the other one I think that's interesting as well I think when you look at the secondary as a whole of course you got travius white you got Darius Williams as the two starting outside guys and then Durant who really had an underwhelming year in his sophomore season a little bit of a step back last season I think you look at him as the first backup and then honestly I really do like Lake there in the slot I think he can be dynamic there it's just a matter what they want to do in that role Durant's the wild card right Durant is the one that you just like there's almost nothing in the option tree that would totally blow me away other than he develops into an all pro do does he could he develop into a a a a functioning starter yeah I I think I think there's a world that exists where that happens I don't know if i' bet on it a ton but is there a world where he's good enough yeah is there a world where he's not good enough and you really can't use him yeah there is so I think you need to have as many different guys that can do as many different spots if he locks down one of those spots it gives you great optionality really across the secondary uh if he's really good if he's not all of a sudden everybody else needs to be a little better I think it puts pressure on travius white it puts pressure on Darius Williams and these sorts of guys but the more depth you have and really talking about Durant at this point he's a depth piece more than anything else it just gives you more options whether it's injury options whether it's performance options it allows you to do more things with more guys it does and that's kind of been kind of one of the issues with this Ram secondary is a lack of depth a lack of topend talent really when you look at the draft since joris Jenkins taine Johnson guys like that they haven't really hit on too many secondary pieces and if you do move leg back to the slot coordinate you kind of balance out the corners and the safeties and that's kind of what his dad did Carnell Lake right he goes from safety to cornerback and I was look what what college did I look let me look up right Lake UCLA guys so great story some Bruins in the hometown I mean Quint lake so I just think a star in the star role is something has the potential to be now take a look at where they stand right now as far as the dep in the secondary you got 10 guys I think you got 10 guys last year 10 guys this year Darius Williams Trey white Cam curl Kobe Durant Quin Lake Darion Kendrick John Johnson I third Russ e Trey Tomlinson who we'll see if he has a big breakout year I think he still has all the talent in the world to do that then Cameron kinchin so really think this is going to make Jason Taylor the odd man out when it comes to the secondary depth okay so here's one thing we haven't mentioned with all of this the kickoff rules right these these defensive guys the safeties the corners and some other position these are the guys that traditionally make up a good chunk of your special teams units we just don't know how those special teams units are going to are going to look how they're going to be organized how they're going to function do you want speed and athleticism do you want size and power what exactly is it you're looking for from this particular group so I think that when the Special Teams units are being considered a lot of the this is going to have a trickle down effect on what it does to your linebackers what it does to your defensive line depth what it does to your secondary depth is that is that that that new kickoff rule that no one is entirely sure how it's gon to look like and and and who the best Personnel groupings are going to be I think that has a ton of of impact on what we're talking about with the depth whether it's a Tomlinson whether it's a tayor who whoever it may be somebody that can make themselves a little bit more value in a special teams unit has a big Advantage absolutely Travis because Yeah by definition there is safety but at that point when you're deeper in the depth chart it's really what's your role going to be on special team so yeah that's a fantastic point and also too wanted to bring this up now that you remind me on something we haven't talked about I know that you'll care a lot about this is Joshua cardi you're a big fan of the cardi parties he's number 43 and that's John Johnson the third's number what are they going to do there is he gonna have to pull an con and give him a Porsche maybe give him like a Ford Focus I don't know if he can a I I don't know John Johnson has aani sort of resources so they may have to work out I don't know he can get buy man Uber for a week or something like that I I don't know what it is but yeah the no porch coming his way for sure for sure but they gotta figure that out because I I don't I don't like seeing guys on the same team when they return on different numbers that freaks me out a little bit you know what I mean so I need him back and forth 43 cardi look we know we have high expectations but let's not forget man you're a kicker at the end of the day I mean let's no disrespect but let's let's give John Johnson third his number 43 back but coming up next on lock on Rams we're starting our countdown of the top 20 Rams entering the 2024 season that's coming up next on lockdown Rams passion drive and patience right the formula for winning championships is also with keeps your ride or die alive eBay Motors has everything that you need to maintain your vehicle and level it up to Peak Performance superchargers roof racks exhaust kits LED headlights and a whole lot more so whether you are into speed power or style eBay Motors has you covered with over 122 million parts for your number one ride or die you'll always find exactly what you're looking for and with eBay guaranteed fit your parts guaranteed to fit your ride every time or your money back because with eBay Motors you are burning rubber not cash with all the parts you need at the prices that you want it's easy to make your car the MVP and bring home huge wins so keep your ride or lie dive or ride or die alive easy for me to say at ebaymotors.com eligible items only exclusions apply eBay guaranteed fit only available to us customers and welcome back to lockon Rams thank you for making lock on Rams your first listen every single weekday free and available revor podcast lock on Rams part of locked on podcast Network your team every day also special shout out to every listeners out there really really appreciate you guys watching listening to every single episode of lockdown Rams but here in our third seven we're are starting our Countdown the top 20 Rams entering the 2024 Seasons according to their importance to the teams success and we're starting with new Ram we talked about him a little bit in the previous segment and that is Cameron curl and I think Cameron curl could go down as one of the best value signings in the off season when you look at the safety Market there was a lot of quality safeties they were just sitting around the Rams took advantage of that by bringing in Cameron curl and you look at Jordan Fuller he ends up signing with the Carolina Panthers he absolutely had to add someone to that position and they give him a deal two years worth up to $9 million and he someone that's not a big turnover machine but he's great at the line of scrimmage great in the Run game and I think he's going to be a big boost for this team and I think that he's gonna really be a player that Rams Fans are G to fall in love with very quickly so this REM and I keep in mind I understand this positions are different here but this reminds me so much of a previous deal that the Rams had done with another former Buffalo Bills player Nel Roby Coleman th this is a guy that came in that was a little bit under the radar that wasn't a big name that's somebody that's like okay let's see how this works out and all of a sudden became an incredibly valuable player to the Rams I know Nel Roby Coleman's the guy we think of when he hit uh Tommy Lee Lewis in that Saints game and the flag didn't come out that was a nice little uh bonus for Nel roie Coleman there but these are the sort of guys that hey you know what that guy that guy's making a big difference on the team he doesn't make a lot of mistakes he's making a big play here or there he's incredibly reliable he's incredibly consistent he's incredibly confident and I think that curl has the ability to maybe do that as well he's not going to be a guy you're not going to see a bunch of Cameron curl jerseys in this stands you're not going to see you know when we're talking about it on the postgame show on ESPN 710 I don't know if his name is going to come up a million different times after each and every game but at the end that's probably a good thing right you know whose name comes up a lot Durant you know whose name came up a lot of guys that are getting beat over and over again so I'm very optimistic about having him just be a very consistent steady piece at the back end of that defense I agree he's not going to be someone that's going to wow you with big playmaking ability right he's picked up zero passes he has no interception since 2021 but where he's at his best is around the line of scrimmage and he's someone that can come down and make plays in the Box you can use him in the dime linebacker role and you can use him in passing situations where he can go out there and be physical and match up with tight end so he's one of those glue guys that is going to do a lot of things that aren't going to make the highlights but he's also going to do a lot of things they going to help this team win a ton of games so definitely think he's going to be big time for this team in two like I said Jordan Fuller's out you look for another Captain another leader on this team I think he's going to be a guy that does it by example and you look at his experience he's only 25 years old he's played almost 3,500 snaps in his career in the last four years he's made 300 tackles so he's been consistently good to great at times and I think that that's exactly what this Rams defense needs competency I know I'm a broken record I know the the the every dayers are probably like yeah TR we get it I'm telling you somebody that gives you a performance that is same as the performance they gave you the week before that's the same as the performance they're going to give you next week you can take it to the bank you can you can scheme around it if I know exactly what it is you're going to give me now I can go work on this player over here I can work on this scheme over there I don't have to worry about hey is he G to have a good day or a bad day I know there's always some very in every single player but what makes a a really valuable guy in my opinion is somebody that gives you the same thing day after day week after week and I think that he can be one of those guys it's like we talked we kicked off the show talking about John Johnson with this it does an A+ every day sure we all want that that's Aaron Donald good luck finding another one of those but you give me a guy that's a b every single week I'll take it all day long yeah and it's honestly really fun to watch The Ram safety play because they don't use safety in the traditional sense and you're going to see them do the same thing with KL he's going to be all over the field he's going to be in the slot he's going to be in the Box you're going to see him back deep so you're going to see him all over the field making plays but not necessarily turnovers but hey who knows that could change maybe that's a point of emphasis for him last year 115 tackles three tfls five pass defense one force fumble three QB hits one sack so he can do a lot of different things to help this team and I think he's going to be big next year for the Rams but that's going to be that's going to do it for this lockon Rams my name is Doug McCain you can follow me on X and Instagram at dmac corla and you can follow the peoples Chan Mr Travis Rogers Travis Rogers and until next time whose house it's locked on Rams house