Rams CB Trent McDuffie Talks Stafford’s Greatness; Facing Mahomes & KC in WK13

Rich asked Trent McDuffie how good Matthew Stafford looks up close. The answer took two words.

"He's the best."

McDuffie has spent four seasons covering elite quarterbacks and he built the case like a scout. Technique. Eye progression. A guy who can no-look you and who knows every defense on the field. "Every coverage you play, he's seen, he's gone against it, he's attacked it, he's broken it down."

Then he described the rhythm, which is the part that ruins a cornerback's afternoon. "One, two, three, ball out. One, two, three, ball out. He's looking you off to throw the other way."

The comparison was right there, and McDuffie made it himself. He spent last season going against Patrick Mahomes and all the great throws that come with it. What he sees now is a different flavor of the same problem. "There's just that veteran swag," he said. "He's confident, he knows what to do, and he's going to go out there and show you." Getting that every day in practice, in his words, is a blessing.

Schedule makers took care of the rest of the story. The first Thursday in December, McDuffie plays his old team.

"It's going to be definitely a lot of emotions," he said. Part of it is the novelty of lining up against guys he has practiced against for four years, with a little friendly bickering built in. Part of it is respect. Whoever Kansas City puts on the field, he said, they will be ready to rock and ready to roll, and so will the Rams. He is not the only former Chiefs cornerback in this secondary either, which should make the night louder.

Rich wanted the important detail. Would McDuffie actually talk smack to Mahomes, knowing what kind of competitor is on the other end of that?

"Only because it's Pat, I'm going to have to poke a little bit."

Pressed on what the poke sounds like, McDuffie kept it modest. A blitz, probably. A quick "hey Pat, you know I'm here." He knows the risk and he does not care, because he has seen the reaction up close. Mahomes buys into it, loves it and gets fired up, which is exactly what made practice fun.

The list of reunions runs longer than the quarterback. Travis Kelce, Rashee Rice and Xavier are all on it, and McDuffie sounded genuinely happy about seeing everybody. Right up until kickoff.

"For them four little hours, we're not going to be friends," he said. "I'll talk to y'all after the game."

The friendship part came with receipts. McDuffie was at Kelce's wedding, which Rich noted with a raised eyebrow, given how little you want to jeopardize an invitation like that. What stuck with McDuffie was the turnout. Chiefs past and present, plus coaches, filled the room.

"That was one of my favorite things," he said. "I haven't seen them in a while. Knowing how many guys did show up, that did care, that wanted to be there not only just to see other people, but to go and celebrate Travis and Taylor, that was special."

Four years in one building makes for a lot of goodbyes he never actually got to say. He got to say them at a wedding instead, then spent the night catching up with coaches. A really cool night, he called it.

In December, all of that goes in a drawer for a few hours.