RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Kam Kinchens has built his reputation on takeaways, but the Los Angeles Rams safety says he had to change how he measures his own performance heading into his third NFL season.
"You always thought that picks were the best thing. To me, personally, that's always what it was. I always graded my season on how many picks I got," Kinchens said, via The Athletic 's Nate Atkins .
"Last year was the first year I had to switch my mindset to, 'You can't get the ball on every down.' There'd be games where I had great games but didn't get my hands on the ball too much, and I'd be down on myself because that's what I value."
After tying for a team-high four interceptions as a rookie in 2024 on 46% of defensive snaps, Kinchens saw his playing time rise to 75 percent of the Rams' defensive snaps in 2025 but finished with just two interceptions on the year — both coming in a Week 11 win over the Seattle Seahawks . He finished fourth on the Rams' top-10 scoring defense with 84 tackles. Kinchens also allowed 24-of-29 passes thrown his way to be completed for four touchdowns when targeted last season
The Rams' defensive struggles down the stretch culminated in a 31-27 NFC Championship Game loss to the Seahawks, in which Sam Darnold threw for 346 yards and three touchdowns. That game became the catalyst for an overhaul of the secondary and pass rush this offseason.
Los Angeles traded for two-time All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie and signed his former Kansas City Chiefs running mate, Jaylen Watson. The team also sent Jared Verse and draft capital to the Cleveland Browns for two-time Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett, who set the NFL's single-season sack record with 23 sacks last season. Lake, Curl, McDuffie and Watson signed for a combined $183 million in guarantees over the past calendar year.
Kinchens said the additions changed the calculus for the entire defense.
"Most of the time, you only have a few blockbusters every few years," Kinchens said. "We had two in a couple months.
"To have two of them now? It's crazy. It's just going to help me maximize my role. It's going to make my role a lot easier, of course, having [McDuffie] on the outside and of course Myles rushing the passer along with the rest of the guys. It brings some more space for me to make some plays."
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Rams third-year DB Kam Kinchens explains shifting mindset beyond INTs
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