Mark Barron Gives the St. Louis Rams a Much-Needed Physical Presence

With Tuesday’s trade deadline approaching, the St. Louis Rams needed a defensive jolt. Or really they needed a shock to the system of any kind before more bodies fell and this season continued down its path of sorrow and regret.

That jolt will now come in a literal form—as in the ones that will be delivered by newly acquired safety Mark Barron.

The price paid by the Rams in their trade with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers tells you how far Barron’s value had fallen in only a few short seasons. He was deemed worthy of the seventh overall pick in 2012, and two years later he can only fetch fourth- and sixth-round picks in return, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

But that trade price is partly due to the Bucs’ eagerness to recover any cost from a player who didn’t fit with their new head coach’s defensive system.

Barron established himself as a hard hitter during his time smashing bodies at Alabama, recording 235 tackles over four seasons. He has fine ball skills too, with 12 interceptions for the Crimson Tide and three over his first two professional seasons in Tampa along with 16 passes defensed. But Barron didn’t fit in Lovie Smith’s soft zone defense, and now he has a chance to realize the potential he showed as a predraft prospect.

It's the same potential that had Bucs legend John Lynch comparing Barron to, well, John Lynch. Barron is a slugging human hammer and has thrived in the past against the run when asked to play close to the line of scrimmage.

"

In 2013, Mark Barron ranked second among safeties with a Run Stop Percentage of 10.9% when lined up in the box.

— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) October 28, 2014"

That's how he should be used in St. Louis. Or it's how he should be used everywhere, as Barron is naturally suited to attack downhill as a box safety, stopping runs and dislodging balls on short routes.

He’s not horrible in coverage either, he’s just not great.

Barron is giving up an opposing passer rating of 91.4 when targeted this year with 173 yards allowed, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). That’s average or maybe slightly above, but average is an improvement. He’s a significant upgrade in coverage over current Rams strong safety T.J. McDonald, who’s allowing a skyrocketing passer rating of 153.1 with 356 yards coughed up.

Between that coverage improvement and the lane stuffing Barron should bring to the league’s 31st-ranked run defense, a 25-year-old with two years left on his contract is well worth the risk of two mid-round picks.