Rams' cornerback Jalen Ramsey likes to talk. In fact, Rams' cornerback Jalen Ramsey likes to talk a lot.
The All-Pro corner, who was traded from Jacksonville to Los Angeles a few weeks ago, is famously opinionated and notoriously loud about it. Just ask Allen Robinson, who was the one to line up against Ramsey when he first entered the league in 2016. Both started their careers with the Jaguars – Robinson as a second round pick in 2014 and Ramsey as the fifth overall selection just two years later. It'll be the first time they've played one another.
"It's going to be physical, it's going to be competitive, it's going to be fun," he said on Wednesday. "I'm definitely looking forward to it ... I talk, he talks, so it'll be fun."
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Ramsey figures to shadow Robinson throughout most of the game on Sunday, or would at least like to if he got his way. His in-game bravado – which sometimes overshadows the fact that he's the NFL's best cornerback – oftentimes throws receivers for a loop. It may be a unique challenge to NFC North receivers, but it's nothing new to Robinson. Whether it's showing up to training camp in a literal Brinks truck or publicly criticizing the quarterback of the team he now plays for, his audacity has never wavered.
"Yeah, from the time he was in Jacksonville, we've had a lot of one-on-one's between me and him," he said. "From the time he got drafted. I definitely enjoyed it. It's always fun to go against good competition."
"You better have confidence in this league playing corner and he's got ultimate confidence," Matt Nagy added. "You see part of his game is talking and there's some guys that do that, some that don't. Some guys that do it can't play, he can do it and can play. So you give respect to that guy. He matches a lot of the number one receivers and so I, we'll know where he's at."
They don't keep in touch, but Robinson gave a lot of credit to Ramsey and the rest of that 2016 Jacksonville secondary for helping him turn into the type of Pro Bowl caliber receiver that earned him a three-year, $42 million contract with the Bears.
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"Being able to play against him and A.J. Bouye for a couple years – and now going against Prince [Amukamara] and Kyle [Fuller] – I think it's always good to play good competition each and every week," he said. "You spend a lot of time with those guys in OTAs and Training Camp doing one-on-ones, and really fine-tuning your game."
Robinson's generally considered a mild-mannered guy, but did say that knowing Ramsey so well, and vice-versa, may make the competition a little more spirited than normal. He's expecting a lot of physicality on the sidelines – where Ramsey does some of his best physical and mental work – and talked about how Ramsey's length affects the catch point on a lot of Robinson's routes. Whether the two are mic'd up or not remains to be seen, just don't expect any of it to affect Robinson.
"You know, I know him too," he said. "So I would give us both an advantage."