When people talk about how the Rams won Super Bowl LVI, the Matthew Stafford trade usually gets the headlines. Fair enough. But the move that actually set everything in motion came a couple of years earlier, when they went out and got Jalen Ramsey in the middle of the 2019 season.

Ramsey had already established himself as one of the best young corners in the league after the Jaguars took him fifth overall in 2016. He made the Pro Bowl in 2017 and 2018 and looked like a franchise cornerstone. Then everything unraveled. After a heated sideline blowup with coach Doug Marrone that nearly turned physical, Ramsey demanded out. A few weeks later, the Jaguars shipped him to Los Angeles for two first-round picks and a fourth. He stepped right in, finished the year strong, and earned another Pro Bowl nod.

Over the next two seasons, he was as good as any cornerback in football. He earned back-to-back first-team All-Pro honors, and he was a central piece of the defense that finally got over the hump in Super Bowl LVI. At his peak, he was dangerous because of a rare combination of size, speed, and physicality with elite man-coverage instincts—he could erase a No. 1 receiver while still being a sure tackler who could slide inside or stay outside depending on the matchup. His peers noticed; they ranked him No. 9 on the NFL Top 100 heading into 2022. The Rams fell off hard that year, but Ramsey stayed excellent and made his sixth straight Pro Bowl.

After the season, Los Angeles moved him to the Miami Dolphins for a third-round pick and tight end Hunter Long. It was a short stay, but it was one of the best concentrated runs any defensive back has had in Rams history.

While wearing the horns, Ramsey had 10 interceptions with 242 tackles.