Rams look to draft to bolster safety depth

As the Rams prepare for the NFL draft, The Times will examine their roster. Part 2 of 10: Safeties.

The plan called for Taylor Rapp to play as a rotational safety, giving the Rams rookie time to learn from sage veteran Eric Weddle and ascending star John Johnson.

And through nearly six games of the 2019 season, Rapp apprenticed with aplomb.

After Johnson suffered a season-ending shoulder injury against the San Francisco 49ers, Rapp was thrust into the starting lineup for the final 10 games. He showed the

Rams had drafted wisely by choosing him in the second round.

Now, with Weddle having retired, Johnson and Rapp are set to start for a Rams team trying to rebound from a 9-7 nonplayoff season.

Johnson said this week he could not wait to play alongside Rapp.

“We’ll both be a little more versatile,” Johnson said. “And I also think Taylor Rapp is a little more versatile than he thinks he is, so I think we’re going to have to get that out of him.”

Johnson, Rapp and all of the Rams’ defensive players will be learning a new system under first-year coordinator Brandon Staley.

Johnson, 24, was a thirdround draft pick in 2017. Injuries slowed him during offseason workouts and training camp before his rookie season, but he started the final 11 games opposite Lamarcus Joyner.

In 2018, he intercepted four passes during the regular season and also intercepted a pass in overtime of the NFC championship game to set up the game-winning field goal that sent the Rams to the Super Bowl.

Rapp, 22, intercepted two passes last season. He also established himself as an outstanding tackler and drew rave reviews from Weddle.

Other safeties on the roster are second-year pro Nick Scott, who played mainly on special teams, and secondyear pro Jake Gervase, an undrafted free agent who spent most of last season on the practice squad.

Marqui Christian, a valuable rotational safety the last few seasons, became an unrestricted free agent after the 2019 season and reportedly agreed to terms with the New York Jets on a one-year, $2million contract in March. But that deal fell through and Christian remains unsigned.

Under contract for 2020: Johnson ($2.3 million), Rapp ($1.1 million), Scott ($694,000), Gervase ($675,000),

Free agents: The Rams did not pursue safeties in the initial two waves of free agency. Christian, who played as hybrid linebacker at times in former coordinator Wade

Phillips’ system, is a longshot to return. But stranger things have happened in the NFL.

Draft: Neither Johnson nor Rapp was a first-round pick, so the Rams have shown the ability to identify safety talent in later rounds. Without a first-round pick for the fourth year in a row, they will again be looking for safeties to add depth.

Roster decisions: Weddle’s retirement was not unexpected. He intimated throughout the 2019 season that it could be his last. Johnson is in the final year of his rookie contract. He has said he is not worried about an extension, and that his performance would speak for itself.

NEXT: Linebackers.