Rams building special defense with Aqib Talib

The Los Angeles Rams came out of nowhere to win the NFC West last season, but that was apparently not good enough for general manager Les Snead.

In a league that is typically allergic to risk-taking ventures, Snead is the football equivalent to a guy hitting 16 at the blackjack table. The Rams have made a flurry of trades this offseason, sending Robert Quinn to the Miami Dolphins and Alec Ogletree to the New York Giants, clearing better than $20 million in cap space while taking back mid and late-round draft picks.

However, Snead has also acquired a pair of boisterous corners who will shape his team — for better or worse — come 2018. Two weeks ago, the Rams agreed in principle to send a 2018 fourth-round and 2019 second-round pick to the Kansas City Chiefs in exchange for Marcus Peters and a sixth-round choice this year.

Then, on Thursday, Snead pulled off another stunner by landing Aqib Talib for a fifth-rounder this year in a deal with the Denver Broncos. While Peters is cheap and remains on his rookie deal, Talib is taking on $12 million this season. Still, the Rams come out of this far ahead of where they would have if the team signed Trumaine Johnson instead.

Additionally, the deals to get rid of Quinn and Ogletree allowed Snead to make these moves without any issue, actually lessening the team’s cap hit for the upcoming campaign. As it stands, the Rams will have approximately $30 million after all these moves become official at the start of the league year on March 14 at 4 p.m. ET.

All told, Snead might have built the best defense in the NFL. Los Angeles has a secondary comprised of John Johnson, LaMarcus Joyner, Talib and Peters, while the front seven includes Defensive Player of the Year, Aaron Donald. Factor in that Wade Phillips is the defensive coordinator, and the Rams bookpoised to make a serious run at the Super Bowl while Jared Goff plays out his rookie deal over the upcoming three seasons.

If Los Angeles can fill the front seven in a bit around Donald, the defense could be the league’s best. With an offense that already has Todd Gurley, a steady offensive line and a rising star in Goff, the Rams appear an easy favorite to win the West. This is also bolstered with the Seattle Seahawks being in the midst of blowing up a once-great roster, apparently content to hit the reset button for 2018.

After years of being lost and without a clue, the Rams are finally challenging for the first time in almost two decades. It should be plenty of fun in the City of Angels this fall.