St. Louis Rams Closing Evaluations: What Grades Do the Safeties Receive?

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

T.J. McDonald: Out of all the young players on the Rams’ 2014 roster, T.J. McDonald may have been the most improved this season. While the second-year safety had some nice moments during his rookie year in 2013, he had some obvious growing pains and never really got back up to speed after returning from a broken fibula for the last few games of the season.

McDonald was one of the best players on the Rams’ defense in 2014, finishing with 105 tackles, the most tackles for a Rams safety in a single season since Adam Archuleta had 116 in 2002. He finished ninth in the category among NFL safeties. McDonald also showed himself to be a playmaker, recording two sacks, an interception, and a fumble recovery during the course of the season.

While the Rams took Maurice Alexander in the fourth round and immediately threw Sean Taylor and Kam Chancellor comparisons at the rookie, maybe McDonald is actually the impact safety that the Rams have been looking for since Archuleta regressed to the norm in the early 2000s. It should be interesting to see if McDonald can increase his growth as a player and develop into a Pro Bowl candidate over the next few seasons.

GRADE: A

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