In one fell swoop, the Los Angeles Rams addressed their biggest area of need and sent a warning shot to the rest of the NFC.

Reports emerged Friday that the upstart club was finishing a trade for Kansas City Chiefs corner Marcus Peters - a blockbuster deal that could be finalized at any moment, but cannot be processed until March 14, the beginning of the new league year.

The compensation the Chiefs will receive has yet to be determined, but what is already crystal clear (should the trade go through) is that the Rams have added a premier corner at the top of his game.

The Rams already signaled that they are a force to be reckoned with, having completed an impressive one-year turnaround from a 4-12 outfit to an 11-5 division champion.

They're home to the defending Coach of the Year in Sean McVay and the NFL's Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year in Todd Gurley and Aaron Donald, respectively. Now, they're on the brink of adding Peters, a former Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Elsewhere in the conference, the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles will be reintegrating MVP candidate Carson Wentz after he completes his rehab from a torn ACL; the Minnesota Vikings don't have a quarterback; the ultra-competitive NFC South has three contenders that may eat each other alive; and former juggernauts the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers are retooling. The Rams have announced their intention to capitalize on this open window.

In bringing Oakland native Peters back to the West Coast, Los Angeles is getting both a ball hawk and a shutdown corner. Aside from his 19 interceptions in three seasons, his 55 passes defensed are also tops since 2015, and his 51.9 completion percentage allowed is fifth-best.

Even entering the 2017 season, there were questions surrounding the Rams' secondary. The team used the franchise tag on corner Trumaine Johnson for a second consecutive year to keep him installed as its No. 1 cover man. Now, both Johnson and slot corner Nickell Robey-Coleman are set to hit free agency.

Acquiring Peters, a 25-year-old in the prime of his career, has addressed the biggest team need, though L.A. can still bring Johnson and Robey-Coleman back and has the cap space to do so.

Intent on supplanting the Seahawks as the team to fear in the NFC West, the Rams now have a complete roster with which to challenge some of the conference's best.

Expensive contract extensions are due to the likes of Gurley and Donald, and it will cost a pretty penny to retain Peters' services beyond 2019 - but Los Angeles is in win-now mode, and has the requisite pieces to pull it off.

(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)