I find myself wondering what they'd be doing with the safeties right now if Lake wasn't out with that hamstring. Fuller is going to be hitting FA. JJ might stick around this time, given that he went and got his payday prior and maybe sees a role for himself in this defense. But there is at least one job up for grabs for next season, maybe two, and I would expect them to want to get a look at Lake in that pairing and see how he handles it. Yeast they have a feel for. He's good roster depth.
So looking at this secondary it feels like we need one safety. And since the WILB spot and its sub options have not been impressive I could see the team going after a safety prospect who can serve as a nickel/WILB hybrid type role to simplify the rotation and give this defense a big shot in the arm. Which means we could conceivably see them add a couple safeties this offseason with one of them earmarked for box usage.
To the corners I am not certain they would want Lake to serve in that slot role. He benefits the defense in toughness in the run game over our corner options, and they definitely prioritize run support in the slot, but I presume his future is in the back end pairing. Philosophically one of our biggest problems vs the proliferation of WCO concepts and matching up with the Shitters in particular has been tackling and anticipation in their drops. Which means no matter how much I like Durant's cover ability I can't deny he's a liability there.
Either way we need the corners to step up over the rest of this schedule. The fact that neither Durant nor Tomlinson can get on the field to spell Witherspoon is concerning. Because Spoon isn't a bad corner, but his inconsistencies in coverage are a weakness that should spell opportunity for those vying for that role. Just a stream of consciousness here I guess as I continue to be vexed by the continued reliance on Spoon. But as things stand right now our speed outside the hash is a significant problem for this defense and I'm not sure to what extent these corners on the depth chart can factor in to solving that.
Kendrick I used to view as a short term solution, but maybe he is more than that. Thing is you don't want two corners who are liabilities vs speed. The fact that more teams don't burn the shit out of our secondary is a testament to the coaching. But with four games remaining I would think we start to see a phasing out of Spoon, who is definitely a short term option. Certainly there would be value in getting more look at these guys on the depth chart in that role outside the hash. Durant they tried out there and he almost instantly got hurt, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't put his ass back out there to see how he reacts to it. Same with Tomlinson. I figure Tomlinson is struggling with the call and schemes, and he's also done stupid shit like thinking he can hit wideouts downfield without getting called on it, but like with Durant the guy has wheels and the coverage ability.
Feels to me like the back end, in spite of how well they have played given the lack of rush and quality of opponents, has held back the way this defense gets called. And in the event the Rams do get into the playoffs, as well as leading into offseason decision making, it feels like there is room for quite a bit of movement with that back end.