Los Angeles Rams Roster Overview: S, Quentin Lake

This post-draft series continues with an inside look at Pick 211 from the 2022 NFL Draft - UCLA safety prospect Quentin Lake.

QUENTIN LAKE

6’1” / 201 lbs / S / UCLA

Arms: 31 ¼”

Hands: 9 ⅛”

40 yard Dash: 4.59

Bench Press: —

Vertical Jump: —

Broad Jump: —

3 Cone Drill: —

20 yard Shuttle: —

College Evaluation:

Prototypical size for safety position with height and weight. Carries a similar level of playing-confidence that John Johnson and Jordan Fuller brought in their first years.

Quentin Lake’s tape shows a safety that can play centerfield, but also come down to play zone in the middle level of the field. Anticipation of where the quarterback is going with the football stands out, as he has the traits of a ball-hawk. Breaks down well on tackling, hardly ever overcommitting in pursuit.

Carries a special teams pedigree that gives him a leg up on other rookies and UDFAs trying to make the team.

Lake does lack burst in the open field and could be a step slow at the next level. He can come up in run support but has some deficiencies to go sideline to sideline against elite quarterbacks that are reading the field.

Fit with Los Angeles:

While safety does not seem like an immediate need for L.A, the Rams do have Taylor Rapp and Nick Scott set to hit free agency after this year. Despite having Fuller, Rapp, Scott, and Burgess as the lead candidates for the three main safety positions, none of them are great options as a centerfield type safety. Based on the Rams current defensive scheme, they have gotten away without having one, but they may look to strengthen that trait.

The UCLA product is likely to be an immediate addition to special teams, but might have to wait for an incumbent to slip up in training camp in order to earn a role as a dime safety in 3rd down passing situations.

2022 Season Expectation & Prediction:

With Quentin Lake having NFL bloodlines, there will be pressure for him to be able to fill his father’s shoes early. Even Jordan Fuller’s ascension to Day 1 starter as a rookie may place an unfair expectation on the rookie.

I do have a suspicion that one of the “older” safeties will get traded. This is where Taylor Rapp as a former Wade Phillips schematic pick might be on the move. Trading him would save $2.54 million. With Fuller, Rapp, Scott, Burgess, Lake, and Yeast all on the roster - it is crowded and tough to keep all on the 53 man roster. In addition, it puts $2.54 million back into the Rams cap - something they are desperate for with AD99 holding out.

If a trade isn’t on the horizon, expect QL to be a reserve piece until 2023.

10 Games Total

9 Tackles, 0 TFL, 0 INT

Role: Special Teamers Starter / Dime Package Safety (Reserve)

One the next article for Rams Roster Overview, I will cover Derion Kendrick, the Los Angeles’s Rams 6th round cornerback from Georgia. Be sure to follow TurfShowTimes on Facebook and Twitter to get the latest articles and content as the Rams head towards Training Camp this summer.

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