The National Football League’s legal tampering window officially opened up on 12 pm EST this Monday, unleashing an absolute tidal wave of transactions upon both fans and reporters alike. Big-name running backs like Travis Etienne and Kenneth Walker III both found new homes, and so too did a plethora of wide receivers. But according to Chris Simms, it was the Los Angeles Rams who truly won the day.
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Less than one week after the NFC runner-ups managed to finalize a trade for the Kansas City Chiefs’ All-Pro DB, Trent McDuffie, they’ve now acquired yet another one of Kansas City’s secondary defenders, Jaylen Watson. The four-year veteran inked a three-year, $51-million deal with the Rams, leaving Simms with no other choice than to applaud Los Angeles’ most recent string of moves.
“I think that was brilliantly done by the Los Angeles Rams,” the former quarterback turned analyst noted during his latest broadcast on NFL on NBC. “Watson is big, he’s long, he can take on those bigger receivers… McDuffie is rare in that you can put him outside against the best receiver in football. He could also play the slot. He’s a nickel guy. He can play the jitterbug guy, which is rare to have.”
On some level, it seems as if the damage that was caused by Jaxson Smith-Njigba and the rest of the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship was enough to make the Rams want to ensure that it never happens again. According to Simms, they’ve been successful in that mission, but of course, no one will know for certain until we get to see their two regular-season outings in 2026.
Until then, however, there can be no denying that Los Angeles has been one of the most productive teams of the offseason so far. “They are going to be able to match up with anybody,” Simms added.
“[McDuffie] does it all. He blitzes, he tackles in the run game… Jimmy Lake being there, who coached him at Washington, they know him. They know what kind of guy he is. That’s why they were happy to make him the highest paid corner in all of football.”
It’s also worth mentioning that the Rams’ recent uptick in activity is likely an indicator that Matthew Stafford will actually be returning for at least one more playoff run, as the franchise likely wouldn’t have pushed its chips towards the middle of the table like this unless they were certain about competing in 2026. Although even if Stafford were to change his mind at the last minute, then there’s still no issue to be found in having one of the best defenses in football, and that’s exactly what Los Angeles has now, thanks to these two signings.
