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When the Los Angeles Rams made the move for cornerback Trent McDuffie, they added an All-Pro corner who might not even be in the prime of his career yet. After signing McDuffie to a record deal for a defensive back, the Rams have ensured they'll have him for the best years of his career, and considering he's already a two-time Super Bowl champion and has played in three Super Bowls, the team is hoping he'll be the calm, veteran piece to ensure aerial superiority over a league that loves to pass the ball.
Sports Illustrated's Karl Rasmussen ranked McDuffie as the seventh-best cornerback in the NFL. His ranking among his contemporaries shows that the Rams got him for a steal of a deal.
The Rams made a big investment in McDuffie this offseason, trading away one of their first-round picks to bring him to Los Angeles and subsequently signing him to a long-term extension for four years and $124 million, which makes him the highest-paid cornerback in league history.
Since being drafted in the first round in 2022, McDuffie has surrendered just 6.2 yards per target, which is the 10th-fewest among all cornerbacks during that span. He also leads all cornerbacks with eight forced fumbles since ’22, and has proven to be one of the best tacklers in the league at his position. McDuffie had a missed tackle rate of 6% last season, an excellent rate for a cornerback that helps mitigate the potential for big plays when the ball is thrown his direction.
McDuffie was added for the 29th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, a 2026 fifth-round pick, a 2026 sixth-round pick, and a third-round pick in 2027. Out of the other nine cornerbacks listed in the top 10, eight of them were drafted by their current team in the first round.
The other was Sauce Gardner, whom the Indianapolis Colts added for the price of Adonai Mitchell and two first-round picks.
The Rams paid less than the Colts and avoided assuming the risk of drafting an unknown prospect in order to fill a critical need.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Sports Illustrated ranked Trent McDuffie as a top-10 CB
