Rams safety Quentin Lake tabs his breakout defensive candidate

Rams safety Quentin Lake tabs his breakout defensive candidate. Oliver G.

Key points

• While Kinchens has 15 tackles and 0.5 sacks through two appearances, lake has 29 tackles and one interception through four games this season.
• Lake has seen Kinchens' ball-hawking ability up close since the Rams selected him in the third round of the 2024 NFL draft.
• If Quentin Lake had to pick one Los Angeles Rams player who could emerge as a breakout star, he wouldn't have to look particularly far.
• If Kinchens continues developing into the playmaking safety Lake believes he can become, the Rams could have quite the tandem in their secondary.
• Kinchens has already shown flashes of the playmaking ability Lake is talking regarding.

If Quentin Lake had to pick one Los Angeles Rams player who could emerge as a breakout star, he wouldn't have to look particularly far. Lake singled out fellow safety Kamren Kinchens during an appearance on the "NFL Spotlight with Ari Meirov" podcast, praising his teammate's instincts, ball skills and willingness to take chances.

"Somebody that I think you guys should highlight in the near future is one of my teammates, one of the guys who I feel like could really be a breakout player, " Lake remarked. "Somebody that's in my room is Kam Kinchens."

Lake has seen Kinchens' ball-hawking ability up close since the Rams selected him in the third round of the 2024 NFL draft. And according to Lake, Kinchens has additionally assisted him become a more aggressive player.

"He is, you know, one of the most talented players that I've been around in terms of just finding the ball, " Lake remarked.

Lake recalled receiving some unexpected advice from the younger safety regarding taking calculated risks on the field.

"He's the one that said, 'Hey, Q, you know, sometimes you just got to take risks, and you know, sometimes the reward might be more than the risk, '" Lake remarked. "I did that a couple times. I was like, 'Hey man, you're right.' I came back to him. I remarked, you know, 'your advice works. I'm going to have to keep doing that.'".

Kinchens has already shown flashes of the playmaking ability Lake is talking regarding. He had four interceptions as a rookie in 2024 and followed that with two interceptions in 2025, giving him six picks in his first two seasons.

In practice, the 24-year-old has additionally contributed 15 tackles through his first two games of the 2026 season, including 3.0 combined tackles and a half-sack in the Rams' Week 4 win over Philadelphia. Lake believes the best could still be ahead for Kinchens.

"He's a guy that I really can feel like can be one of, you know, the best true safeties in this league, " Lake remarked. "He just has a knack for the ball. Particularly instinctual, great hands."

In short, rams safety Quentin Lake tabs his breakout defensive candidate is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.