Getty Jalen Ramsey reacts during a play at Rams 2022 minicamp.
Jalen Ramsey has taken on a different role for the Los Angeles Rams at UC Irvine.
Lately, per Rams insider for The Athletic Jourdan Rodrigue, the All-Pro cornerback has taken in some “mental work” with the Super Bowl champs — acting more as a coach at Crawford Field as he continues to recover from his surgically repaired right shoulder.
Ramsey, however, also has played the role of predictor…which involves this bold prediction he has for one key Rams duo this fall:
‘B Wagz’ & Top 2021 Rams Rookie Building Chemistry
Last season on a veteran-heavy defense that featured Ramsey in the back end, Von Miller at the edge and Aaron Donald on the line (guys with a combined 25 seasons of NFL experience), Ernest Jones was the rookie trying to learn and absorb from all the talent around him.
Jones, though, proved to grow up fast and not be this wide-eyed rookie defender: Starting in seven games, snatching two interceptions and collecting 61 tackles with 36 solo stops and one stop behind the line of scrimmage for the champs. He was also one of the Rams who got to Joe Burrow with the Vince Lombardi Trophy on the line and during a critical third down sequence:
Jones emerged as the most productive rookie from the 2021 Rams’ draft class. But now, he’s wearing a new number and has a new All-Pro teammate next to him in Bobby Wagner.
Bobby Wagner and Ernest Jones stretch and debrief ahead of the day while special teams install happens on other field
The two have been seen aiming to build their field cohesion as they both aim to improve what many pundits and fans believed was the weak link of the Rams’ defense a season ago: The inside linebacker spot. But now, the Super Bowl 48 champion Wagner is getting used to his first training camp with the team he used to tangle with twice a season as a longtime Seattle Seahawk. Already, “B Wagz” is loving the culture inside the “Rams House.”
“I think it’s just the culture: How close everybody is. It’s not just the players either, it’s the coaches are close to one another and the players are close to one another. The accountability is off the charts,” Wagner told the L.A. media after practice on Tuesday, July 26.
But he also uniquely described how the Rams’ cohesion works on the field.
“Because you have that cohesiveness and everybody being close, it allows you to get checked. But when you get checked, you don’t take it personally because the guy who is checking you wants the best for you,” Wagner explained. “I think that’s a symbol of a great team, being able to hold each other accountable and respect each other. From top to bottom, from the coaches to the players, everybody is on the same page. That energy is just impressive.”
Now, he’ll aim to energize the ILB group alongside the fast riser Jones. The former South Carolina Gamecock told Rodrigue on July 22 that Wagner was his favorite linebacker growing up…and still is.
“Him being in the room every day and just watching him, it’s been amazing. It’s been the highlight of my career so far,” Jones told Rodrigue. “He’s everything that I want to be and more.”
Ramsey Also Praising Other Young Rams
The effervescent Ramsey didn’t just have high praise for his new linebacker teammates. He also gave some brief positive reviews about one of his younger Ram teammates who will soon line up with him in the secondary.
On Decobie Durant, the fourth rounder from the 2022 draft, Ramsey told the media: “He’s very smart. He wants to soak up all the knowledge.”
But Ramsey adds it’s not just him. It’s also “D.K.” (Derion Kendrick)” and “everybody.”