The Los Angeles Rams defense struggled over the second half of the 2025 season; there’s no hiding it. Many fans quickly blamed Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula, but after interviewing around the league, he’s back for 2026.

He should be happy he’s back.

Rams general manager Les Snead understood the limitations of the Rams’ defense in 2025. The philosophy the Rams use on the defensive side of the ball mirrors Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. It emphasizes keeping everything in front and playing a two-high shell pre-snap.

The Rams did just that, ranking 10th in the league in explosive play rate, but one thing stood out. Shula played in dime 32 percent of the time, ranking first in the NFL, which meant he’d have lighter boxes. The Rams’ light box rate ranked second in the NFL, only behind the Eagles. It didn’t affect the Rams’ rushing defense or pressure. The team rarely blitzed, not because they didn’t trust their secondary, but because they didn’t need to. Los Angeles had a no-blitz pressure rate of 40.8 percent, ranking second in the NFL.

What stands out is how little the Rams could play man coverage. With the personnel Shula had last season, he couldn’t confidently call man coverage a season ago. Los Angeles had the fourth-lowest man rate and fourth-highest zone rate in the NFL in 2025. It worked for the Rmas for the majority of the season, but when it came to crunch time, and Shula had to call man, the weakness showed. The inability to run man limited the upside of the Rams’ defense as a whole despite the promising numbers.

Snead saw this and went out to fix it.

Rams Acquisitions this Offseason

Signed Kansas City Chiefs corner Jaylen Watson 

Traded for Chiefs corner Trent McDuffie 

Traded for Cleveland Browns edge Myles Garrett 

There was one man in the nightmares of Snead’s dreams, and it was Seattle Seahawks receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. No matter what the Rams did last season, they couldn’t cover him. In three games against the Rams, he went for 354 yards and

Los Angeles’ starting corner last season, Emmanuel Forbes, allowed 21 downfield receptions (10+ air yards), tying sixth most in the NFL. When the Rams needed stops last season, opponents targeted Forbes in man coverage. He wasn’t the sole player responsible; it’s a team game, but he repeatedly stood out.

The additions of Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson allow Shula to call more man coverage. Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is a more aggressive caller, blitzing at the third-highest rate in the NFL last season. He utilizes McDuffie as a blitzer time to time, which gives Shula an option if he were to change things this season.

Watson has a frame to play man coverage; he’s 6-foot-2 and 197 pounds, which is great length to match up with receivers. He gave up more yards in 2025, but allowed a career-best 69 passer rating against.

The Rich get richer

There truly was no reason to add Myles Garrett, as the Rams didn’t “need” him. Edge Jared Verse led the league since coming into it in 2024 in quaterback pressures with 189 (Reg + Post). He was on his way to becoming a top 5 edge rusher in this league, but when you have an opportunity to get the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, you pounce on it. It’s exactly what Snead did, and now Shula can utilize Garrett in a plethora of ways.

The Rams don’t blitz, as previously mentioned, but that doesn’t mean they just line up with four down linemen and rush. Shula gets creative with defenders creeping on the edge and stunts. Los Angeles led the league last year in stunt rate at 26 percent. Shula will try to get free rushers, and Verse worked well in that scheme.

Now add Garrett to it.

While in Cleveland, Garrett would loop and stunt from time to time, showing the type of athlete he is. A man of his size shouldn’t have the flexibility he does.

It allows Shula to get creative, which means we’ll see Garrett on more stunts than we’ve ever seen in his career. It should free up free looks for him to the quarterback, and if not, the Rams have Kobie Turner and Braden Fiske. The pair ranked fifth and 14th, respectively, in pass-rush win rate among defensive tackles last season. The addition of Garrett is scary stuff for the NFC.

It goes back to the idea that this Rams team didn’t need Garrett. They were top 10 in sacks, quarterback pressures and pressure rate. Los Angeles was fine with Verse, but Snead wanted more. He went out and got a player with a 0.70-second get-off time, faster than anyone in the league.

The limitations of this defense have been filled. Snead went out and got the NFL’s best in two positions this offseason, giving Shula the talent that he severely lacked a season ago. It’ll be fun to see how it all plays out, and Shula will likely stay with the same overarching scheme that worked so well in 2025. Now he has the luxury of using more man coverage, and he has a player who just got 23 sacks on his defensive line.