A new trade proposal has the Los Angeles Rams spending a first-round pick to land Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie.
One of the biggest issues the Los Angeles Rams had in 2025 was their secondary. Injuries to Roger McCreary, Akhello Witherspoon, Quentin Lake, and more led to a fourth-worst 276.0 passing yards given up per game.
That is not a stat that the Rams can ignore, especially when the Super Bowl now goes through a high-flying offense from the Seattle Seahawks. That said, Los Angeles has been given a trade proposal that would land them Super Bowl champion and Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie.
There is a strong chance the Rams will want to spend one of their two first-round picks to bolster their secondary, but there is no guarantee that the player they select will become a day-one and longtime starter.
Instead of taking a chance on young talent, the front office could instead use their draft capital to bring in a veteran who is plenty proven.
That veteran could be Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie. ESPN's Bill Barnwell proposed a trade between the teams, as the Rams could send over a first-round pick for McDuffie and a fifth-round pick sent back to Los Angeles.
"Their biggest weakness is at cornerback, a position Snead has tried to address via trades for young stars in the past. The Rams sent second- and fourth-round picks to the Chiefs for Marcus Peters, and though that didn't work out, Snead followed up by sending two first-round picks to the Jaguars for Jalen Ramsey. That one did. I'm not sure there's a cornerback available worth that sort of haul, but would the Rams use one of their first-rounders to get an immediate difference-maker?
"McDuffie fits that bill as a feisty, aggressive cornerback with the ability to play near the line of scrimmage. The Rams have spent at one of the league's lowest rates over the past two years on defense, and they would have no trouble absorbing a potential extension for McDuffie, let alone his $13.6 million fifth-year option in 2026. McDuffie might be best in the slot, where the Rams use Quentin Lake, but he's plenty effective as an outside cornerback, too," Barnwell wrote.
As Barnwell indicated, the Rams have the cap space needed to potentially offer an extension to McDuffie, should this proposed trade go through.
The bigger hurdle would be if the Chiefs wanted to let their All-Pro cornerback walk out of the building, but a first-round pick might be too good to pass up.
McDuffie secured one interception, one sack, seven passes defended, and 63 total tackles in 2025. He also gave up a 63.3 completion percentage and 95.5 passer rating to opposing quarterbacks, and four touchdowns.
Clearly, 2025 was a bit of a down year, but he is coming off back-to-back All-Pro nods. The Rams could use a veteran presence while also using more draft capital for younger talent to be molded and guided by someone like McDuffie.
Los Angeles might also decide to bring back McCreary, Witherspoon, or Derion Kendrick, who will be more affordable options.
The issue with the route is that it is the route that the Rams have taken since Jalen Ramsey left the building, and it has not worked out quite right. The Seahawks aren't the only dominant offense out there, and Los Angeles will need to do something a bit more drastic to push down that 276.0 passing yards per game to opposing offenses in a big way.