Garrett, McDuffie, Watson: Rams talk up 'unbelievable' new arrivals

Chris Shula enters his third season as the Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator with the best hand he's been dealt.

Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson swapped Kansas City for Los Angeles in March, immediately upgrading the Rams' secondary.

And after the trade that shocked the NFL, Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett is working through his first week of OTAs with his new LA teammates.

Shula couldn't resist raving about the newcomers.

"If you talk about coverage and rushers, they are two of the best guys you could possibly get in the NFL," he said.

"You talk about getting to a quarterback, you don't really need to say much else than when you just talk about Myles Garrett.

"Trent is such a great cover guy, man-to-man coverage, but he's so much more than that as well.

"Same with Myles, him playing on first and second down and how disruptive he is in the run game, how he affects teams' game plans."

McDuffie echoed the positive vibes in LA, describing how he has felt "constant love" since arriving in his new home.

How Garrett fits in the Rams' scheme

Garrett set the single-season NFL sack record with 23 in 2025, and arrived in LA with 125.5 career sacks, the most among all active players.

Shula isn't above tweaking the scheme to fit a player of Garrett's calibre, but is keeping the plan simple.

"Obviously, we're still gonna have our principles ... but we're gonna let him do what he does best, and we all know exactly what he does best," he said.

"You're not gonna take Michael Jordan, LeBron, all those guys and pull them out of their comfort zone.

"We're gonna work with him and put him in the best spots that we think for him and the defense to succeed."

What McDuffie and Watson bring to the Rams' secondary

Once again, Shula shared his excitement about the latest additions.

"You talk about Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson, those are two studs coming from KC, asking unbelievable questions in the meeting. They love practice, they love the process, they love football."

Kevin Terrell / Stringer

Shula described the broader experience of bringing in players of their profile.

"It's obviously bringing in guys that have experience; they're very experienced at other places, great players.

"But the coolest thing has been really just getting great people in the building, great vets that we can all learn from, whether it's coaches or players," he continued.

"We can kind of bounce things off each other and make the best thing for the Rams defense going forward."

The one genuine note of regret was the departure of Jared Verse, who Shula called "the attitude of the defense" and credited for everything he contributed over two years in LA.

Given what arrived in his place, it's a trade-off he seems at peace with.