Los Angeles Rams

Byron Young

LB

Young tallied just one stop in the contest despite playing 72 percent of the defensive snaps. The linebacker was mostly neutralized on the edge and did not have a night that lived up to his 12.0-sack season in 2025.

Jaylen Watson

CB

Watson was working through a toe injury leading up to the Rams' regular-season opener, though the issue didn't appear to be a severe one as he played all 65 defensive snaps. Watson was a full-time starter for the Chiefs in 2025, playing 90 percent or more of the team's defensive snaps in 14 of the 16 regular-season games he played in. Watson signed a three-year contract with the Rams in March to start opposite fellow former Chief Trent McDuffie at outside corner. The Rams gave up 205 passing yards and three touchdowns to Brock Purdy in Week 1, so Watson and the secondary will look for better results in Week 2 against the Giants on Monday, Sept. 21.

Tyler Davis

DE

Davis played only 32 of the Rams' 65 defensive snaps in Week 1, but he was able to achieve a new career-high tackle total. He may have earned himself some more playing time come Week 2 versus the Giants.

Trent McDuffie

CB

Week 1 was McDuffie's first game in a Rams uniform after being acquired from the Chiefs in early March. He was responsible for two of the Rams' seven pass defenses of Brock Purdy, and it was just the second time since the beginning of the 2025 regular season that McDuffie logged at least two pass defenses in a game. The 2022 first-rounder inked a four-year contract extension with the Rams in a deal that made him the highest-paid cornerback in the league prior to Christian Gonzalez's extension with the Patriots, and the Rams are relying on McDuffie to solidify a defense that allowed the 11th-most receiving yards to wideouts in 2025.

Kobie Turner

DE

With Aaron Donald not playing Week 1, Turner was tasked with a bigger role in the pass rush alongside Myles Garrett, Byron Young and Braden Fiske. The Rams didn't end up sacking Brock Purdy in the loss, with the defense logging two quarterback hits for the entire game. Turner logged at least 7.0 sacks in each of his first three NFL seasons, and he'll look to tally his first sack of the 2026 campaign in Week 2 against the Giants on Monday, Sept. 21.