Jalen Ramsey hasn't shadowed one receiver a ton this season as the Los Angeles Rams battled their way to Super Bowl LVI to face the Cincinnati Bengals. But if he has his way Sunday, the corner will be matched up on star rookie wideout Ja'Marr Chase often.
Asked Monday if he's lobbied to shadow Chase, Ramsey replied, "Of course," but noted he's ready for whatever the coaches ask.
"It's me now, it's me, keep it real," Ramsey said, via ESPN. "Of course, that's what I'm asking for. That's what I want. Whoever you think their best man is, put me on him. Let me help the team win this game. That's what it's all about.
"There are different areas where we might have to do something different because it might put the team in a better position to win. So, wherever the game may take us, it will take us and we are going to do what we've got to do from there. But you're going to get to see that matchup, you're going to have the opportunity to see it, and I'm going to be ready for it."
Ramsey's highest shadow rate came in the NFC Divisional Round, when he trailed Tampa Bay Buccaneers wideout Mike Evans on 69 percent of the receiver's 52 routes, per Next Gen Stats. The corner did not spend 35-plus percent of his coverage snaps over any specific receiver in either the Wild Card Round or NFC Championship Game.
For much of the season, Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris hasn't asked Ramsey to trail one receiver much, instead playing the corner within the scheme.
The question heading into Super Bowl LVI is whether that could change, especially if Chase gets off to a hot start. With the Bengals sporting a dangerous trio in Chase, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd, Morris could decide not to put his top corner on any one wideout and instead play it situationally.
"Jalen is one of one and I would put Jalen on anybody in the history of our game," Morris said. "That's just how I feel about Jalen. That has nothing to do with Ja'Marr Chase. That has nothing to do with Tee Higgins. That has nothing to do with Tyler Boyd. They should feel the same way. ... It just so happens we're going to dictate the terms that day because we're going to decide within these next couple of weeks of practice and let's get to the game and figure it out and let the best man win."
Regardless of how he's deployed, the Bengals know that they'll have their hands full no matter who Ramsey covers.
"I think he's definitely probably the best cornerback in the NFL," Boyd said. "He's a great player and he understands his assignments, he understands how to play football and he does a great job of doing that. So, we've got to be at our best -- any one of us -- when we go out there and line up in front of him to figure out ways to win our matchup."
