Quarterback

The Rams were at something of a crossroads at the quarterback position this off-season. With 2 years and 58 million left on his contract, none of which was guaranteed, Rams quarterback Matt Stafford wanted a contract adjustment and was willing to entertain a trade if he didn’t get what he wanted. Stafford reportedly had offers from the Giants and Raiders for significant pay raises and, while neither of those teams gave Stafford the comfortability and winning potential that the Rams did, they did give Stafford intriguing alternatives to consider. 

With Stafford set to go into his age 37, the Rams were hesitant to make significant long-term commitments to Stafford, but didn’t have a good alternative. Backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is one of the better and more accomplished backups in the league, with a career 97.6 QB rating in 64 starts, but he is also getting up there in age, heading into his age 34 season, and would have given the Rams a lower ceiling as a team, while being significantly more injury prone, as compared to Stafford. They could have gone with Garoppolo as a cheaper bridge option to a quarterback they would draft, but the draft was weak at the quarterback position this year, making this an inopportune time to need to draft a young quarterback.

In the end, the Rams probably did the best they could with the situation. They kept Stafford by giving him a raise over the next two years, without having to match the reported 50+ million per year the Giants and Raiders were willing to pay Stafford and without making any commitments to Stafford beyond his age 38 season in 2026, upping his total salary over the next two season from 58 million to 84 million and mostly guaranteeing it all. 

In the draft, the Rams traded out of the first round and got an extra first round pick in 2026 for doing so, giving them a pair of first round picks in a much better quarterback draft next off-season. The plan may be to draft Stafford’s successor next year, with Stafford having one year left on his contract, or potentially even to trade Stafford next otf-season if needed and go with a combination of Garoppolo and a rookie in 2025 instead.

For now Stafford remains as the starter with Garoppolo as the backup. Stafford completed 65.8% of his passes for an average of 7.28 YPA, 20 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions last season, while receiving a 74.7 PFF grade, 21st among quarterbacks. However, that was actually his worst PFF grade in a healthy season since 2015, so it’s possible he is starting to decline and could decline further in 2025. I wouldn’t expect him to totally fall off in 2025, but his best days may be behind him at this point. Still, with Stafford and Garoppolo, this is a better quarterback room than a lot of other teams have. 

Grade: B

Receiving Corps

One concern with Stafford, in addition to his age, is that his cap hit will be 17.00% of the cap in 2025 and is projected to be 15.72% of the cap in 2026. Those would be the 2nd and 4th highest cap hit percentages of any quarterback to win the Super Bowl in the salary cap era, as having a high cap hit makes it significantly harder to fill out the rest of your roster with enough talent for a team to go all the way. At this stage of his career, Stafford probably needs a great roster around him to compete at the highest level. Fortunately, the Rams have done a great job finding talent through the draft in recent years, allowing them to keep the cost of the rest of this roster down, while still remaining competitive. 

What makes the Rams’ strong drafting in recent years even more impressive is the fact that they’ve had just one first round pick and four top-50 picks in their past nine drafts, as a result of trades down and aggressive trades for veterans, many of whom are no longer on the roster. One of their many draft steals outside of the top-50 and arguably the best of the bunch is Puka Nacua, who has developed into one of the best wide receivers in the league, despite only being drafted in the 5th round in 2023. 

Nacua finished his rookie season as PFF’s 10th ranked wide receiver with a 87.9 PFF grade and had a 105/1486/6 slash line with 2.59 yards per route run. In 2024, his PFF grade went up to 92.8, 1st in the league among wide receivers, and his yards per route run went up to 3.56, first in the league among wide receivers by a wide margin, with the second ranked AJ Brown averaging 2.99 yards per route run. Nacua’s overall production fell to 79/990/3 in 2024, but that was because he missed six games with injury. His per 17 game numbers were 122/1530/5, which would have exceeded his rookie year numbers. Still only in his age 24 season, Nacua has the potential to lead the league in receiving in 2025 if he can stay healthy for the whole season.

The Rams also might have upgraded opposite Nacua as well. Cooper Kupp was once one of the best wide receivers in the league, but age and injury had slowed him in recent years, leading to him having just a 67/710/6 slash line with 1.99 yards per route run in 12 games last season, which led to the Rams releasing him ahead of a 20 million non-guaranteed salary for his age 32 season in 2025 and then giving that money to Davante Adams, who signed on a 2-year, 44 million dollar deal.

Adams is actually older than Kupp, going into his age 33 season, so he comes with some risk, but he doesn’t have Kupp’s injury history, missing just three games in the past four seasons, and he was the better of the two receivers last season, finishing with a 85/1063/8 slash line in 14 games and averaging 2.04 yards per route run. It’s reasonable to expect some decline from him in 2025, but the Rams don’t need him to be a #1 receiver and, as far as #2 receivers go, he should be an above average one, barring a massive decline. 

The Rams will probably have an upgrade at the #3 receiver spot as well. They didn’t add anyone, but they let go of DeMarcus Robinson, which should be addition by subtraction, as he averaged just 0.99 yards per route run last season and will be replaced primarily by Tutu Atwell, who averaged 2.19 yards per route run in a limited role last season. Atwell probably won’t carry that efficiency into a larger role and he only has a 1.60 yards per route run average in his career, but the 2021 2nd round pick has always had talent and is only going into his age 26 season, so it shouldn’t be hard for him to be more efficient than Robinson. The Rams also have Jordan Whittington, who was even more efficient (2.50 yards per route run), albeit in an even smaller role last season as a 6th round rookie. He probably will have a significantly smaller role than Atwell this season, but he figures to rotate in from time to time and has a lot of upside as far as #4 receivers go.

The tight end position was not a big part of this offense last season, as they targeted tight ends on just 15.3% of targets, 5th fewest in the league, as opposed to the wide receiver position, which received a league leading 74.5% of targets. That will likely remain the case again in 2025, though that has more to do with their talent at wide receiver than their lack of talent at the tight end position. Colby Parkinson struggled with 0.98 yards per route run last season as their primary tight end and he only has a career 1.13 yards per route run average, but he was only starting because Tyler Higbee missed most of the season with injury, limited to three games.

Higbee, who has a career 1.36 yards per route run average, including 1.89 yards per route run in very limited action last season, should be healthier this season. Higbee’s age is a concern, going into his age 32 season, but the Rams used their 2nd round pick on Terrance Ferguson to compensate for Higbee’s aging. The Rams rarely use two tight end sets, but Higbee and Ferguson figure to both see action, potentially splitting the starters’ snaps. With Higbee back and Ferguson being added, Parkinson could easily be relegated to the #3 tight end spot, which would mean he would play very little. With Puka Nacua likely to be healthier, Davante Adams likely being an upgrade over Cooper Kupp, DeMarcus Robinson’s absence being addition by subtraction, the addition of Terrance Ferguson, and a likely healthier season from Tyler Higbee, there is a good chance this receiving corps is significantly better in 2025 than it was in 2024.

Grade: A

Running Backs

Another late round steal the Rams have found in recent years is running back Kyren Williams, a 2022 5th round pick who has been their feature back for the past two seasons, totaling 228 carries in just 12 games in 2023 and then 316 carries (3rd in the NFL) in 16 games last season. Williams was a lot more effective in 2023 though. In 2023 he had a 5.02 yards per carry average, a 3.34 yards per carry average after contact, a 59.6% carry success rate, a 22.4% missed tackle rate, and a 80.3 PFF grade, but in 2024 he had a 4.11 yards per carry average, a 2.72 yards per carry average after contact, a 50.9% carry success rate, a 15.8% missed tackle rate, and a 69.0 PFF grade. 

In 2025, the Rams may try to lessen his workload in hopes of getting Williams back to a higher level of efficiency. They drafted Blake Corum in the 3rd round of last year’s draft to potentially take some of the load off Williams, but he had an underwhelming rookie season, averaging just 3.59 yards per carry across 58 carries with 2.40 yards per carry after contact, a 43.1% carry success rate, and a long run of 12 yards. Corum could be better in his second season in the league though and, if he’s not, the Rams added Jarquez Hunter in the 4th round of this year’s draft to give them added insurance. Both Corum and/or Hunter could cut into Williams’ workload this season to give him more of a breather, which could help him be more efficient. 

Corum and/or Hunter could also cut into Williams’ passing down role, as he’s also played a significant role in passing situations over the past two seasons, but has averaged just 0.58 yards per route run and 4.41 yards per target. Corum averaged 1.81 yards per route run as a rookie, but he only had 7 catches and ran 32 routes, so it’s a very small sample size. Hunter, meanwhile, had 68 catches in his collegiate career, a decent, but unspectacular number. This backfield has potential if they can figure out roles and get Williams back close to his 2023 form, but this group also has some downside if none of their backups develop and Williams doesn’t bounce back.

Grade: B+

Offensive Line

The Rams also got a steal when they signed Alaric Jackson as an undrafted free agent in 2021. In four seasons in the league, he has finished with PFF grades of 70.2, 64.1, 66.2, and 78.3 in four seasons in the league, while making 29 starts in the past two seasons. Jackson is no longer on his rookie deal, but the Rams got a steal when they re-signed him to a 3-year, 56.3 million dollar deal ahead of free agency this off-season, when he almost definitely would have exceeded the 4-year, 82 million dollar deal that the lesser Dan Moore got if he had hit free agency. Jackson might not quite repeat his career best 2024 campaign in 2025, but he’s been a solid player throughout his career and is still in his prime in his age 27 season. 

Right guard Kevin Dotson was originally added via trade, but he too was a steal, as the Rams got him for a swap of late round picks and he has received PFF grades of 85.2 and 81.3 in two seasons with the Rams, while making 30 starts. That performance hasn’t come completely out of nowhere, as he had PFF grades of 66.2, 64.5, and 65.4 in three seasons with the Steelers before joining the Rams, but he has obviously taken his game to another level since being traded. He was kept as a free agent last off-season on a 3-year, 48 million dollar deal that will be a steal if he continues performing at the same level. Still in his prime in his age 29 season, I would expect that to happen for at least one more season.

One mistake the Rams made on the offensive line was signing Jonah Jackson to a 3-year, 52.5 million dollar deal last off-season. Jackson missed significant time with injury in 2024, then got moved to center upon his return, and subsequently benched, playing just four games in total. However, the Rams were able to trade him and get out of the rest of his contract, so even that mistake didn’t hurt them very much. Steve Avila, a 2023 2nd round pick who was originally supposed to move from guard to center to accommodate Jackson, never actually saw any regular season action at center and had a 67.1 PFF grade in 10 starts at guard (7 games missed due to injury) last season, after a 61.1 PFF grade in 17 starts at guard as a rookie. Now going into his third season in the league, Avila looks likely to remain at guard long-term and could have his best season yet in 2025 if he can stay healthy.

With Avila sticking at guard, the Rams needed to find an upgrade at center after 2024 6th round pick Beaux Limmer had a 57.6 PFF grade in 14 starts last season. They did that by reuniting with Coleman Shelton, who spent 2019-2023 with the Rams. Shelton only finished above 60 on PFF in one of those seasons, but it was his final season in 2023 (64.5), when he made a then career high 17 starts and he repeated that season again in 2024 with the Bears, when he had a 66.4 PFF grade across 17 starts, earning a 2-year, 12 million dollar deal to return to the Rams. Shelton doesn’t have a high upside and is going into his age 30 season, but he could remain a decent starter and it wouldn’t be hard for him to be an upgrade over Limmer, who will now be a reserve.

Rob Havenstein rounds out the offensive line at right tackle, entering his 11th season with the Rams at that spot. Havenstein has made 141 starts in 10 seasons, while finishing above 70 on PFF in eight of those seasons, including five straight, but he is heading into his age 33 season and could decline in 2024, perhaps significantly. The Rams’ depth is also a concern, with Limmer as the top reserve center, Justin Dedich as their top reserve guard and David Quessenberry as their top reserve tackle. Dedich is a 2024 undrafted free agent who had a 56.6 PFF grade across three starts as a rookie, while Quessenberry has 30 career starts, including 17 in 2021 when he had a 80.7 PFF grade, but he fell to a 58.4 PFF grade across 110 snaps last season and now is in his age 35 season. This is a talented offensive line overall, but it’s not without concerns.

Grade: B+

Edge Defenders

As I mentioned, the Rams have had just one first round pick in the past nine drafts, as a result of trades for veterans and trades down for more picks. The Rams made that one first round pick count though, taking Jared Verse with the 19th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Verse finished his rookie year with a 86.2 PFF grade, 9th among edge defenders, playing the run well and especially excelling as a pass rusher, only totaling 4.5 sacks, but adding 16 hits, and a 15.9% pressure rate, en route to winning Defensive Rookie of the Year. It’s possible he’s not quite as efficient pressuring the quarterback again in 2025 because development isn’t always linear, but his sack total should go up and his ceiling is sky high. It’s likely he will develop into one of the best edge defenders in the league for years to come, while contending for Defensive Player of the Year awards, even if he does happen to take a step back in year two.

The rest of this edge defender position is a concern though. A 2023 3rd round pick, Byron Young had a decent rookie season with a 63.5 PFF grade across 967 snaps, but took a step back in his second season in the league with a 59.9 PFF grade across 844 snaps. He could bounce back in 2025 and could even have his best season yet in his third season in the league, but he is an underwhelming starter, especially given how many snaps the Rams have had him play over the past two seasons.

Young will likely continue playing a heavy snap count, as the Rams don’t have much in the way of depth. Michael Hoecht, their top reserve a year ago, is no longer with the team. He only had a 61.3 PFF grade, but he was the only other Rams edge defender to play more than 100 snaps and he was replaced by a third round pick in Josaiah Stewart, who has more potential long-term, but could struggle in the short-term, especially if he has to play around the same snap count as Hoecht did last season (639 snaps). Other reserve options include Brennan Jackson, a 2024 5th round pick who played 47 snaps as a rookie, and Nick Hampton, a 2023 5th round pick who has played 78 snaps in two seasons in the league. Jared Verse significantly elevates the overall grade of this group, but the rest of this group is a concern.

Grade: B

Interior Defenders

The Rams also have a pair of promising young interior defenders, 2023 3rd round pick Kobie Turner and 2024 2nd round pick Braden FIske. Turner finished last season with 8 sacks, 3 hits, and a 10.3% pressure rate, while Fiske finished with 8.5 sacks, 2 hits, and a 11.8% pressure rate. Fiske struggled against the run, but Turner played well in that aspect as well and finished with a 74.9 PFF grade overall, 18th best among interior defenders. Turner also had an impressive rookie season in 2023, ranking 9th among interior defenders with a 83.8 PFF grade, while totaling 9 sacks, 8 hits, and a 10.1% pressure rate. Turner could easily develop into one of the best interior defenders in the league for years to come, while Fiske could join him if he can improve as a run defender.

The Rams also added to this group this off-season by signing Poona Ford to a 3-year, 27.6 million dollar deal. Ford has finished above 70 on PFF five times in seven seasons in the league, with three seasons over 80, including a 85.1 PFF grade across 604 snaps last season. Ford is at his best against the run, but has also added 11.5 sacks, 29 hits, and a 6.6% pressure rate in 101 career games, including 3 sacks, 7 hits, and a 6.4% pressure rate last season. He is now heading into his age 30 season, but even if he declines somewhat, he should still remain an above average player. He’s essentially replacing Bobby Brown, who was a solid run defender and had a 63.2 PFF grade overall last season, but he only had a 1.4% pressure rate. Ford figures to rotate heavily with Turner and Fiske and adds even more talent to what was already a strong position group.

With Turner, Fiske, and Ford as their top-3 options, the Rams don’t have much need for depth at the interior defender position, but injuries could strike and force their deeper reserves into more significant roles. Desjuan Johnson is a 2023 7th round pick who has played 222 nondescript snaps in two seasons in the league, Tyler Davis is a 2024 6th round pick who was mediocre with a 51.7 PFF grade across 298 snaps as a rookie, while Ty Robinson is a 5th round rookie. They aren’t great options, but this is still a talented group overall because of their top-3.

Grade: A-

Linebackers

Another potential steal the Rams found is Omar Speights, who went undrafted last year, but became a starter in week 8 after Troy Reeder got hurt and he proved to be an immediate upgrade, finishing his rookie season with a 66.8 PFF grade across 419 snaps, as opposed to a 57.9 PFF grade across 372 snaps for Reeder. Speights is still unproven and his rookie season could prove to be a fluke, but he has the potential to be a decent every down starter long-term. Reeder returns and will at least compete for a starting job in 2025, but he has finished below 60 on PFF in four of six seasons in the league, on an average of just 339 snaps per season, and he was only in the starting lineup out of desperation last season, so he’s not guaranteed to get his starting job back and, if he did, he would likely continue struggling, perhaps even more so, now in his age 31 season.

The Rams lost free agent Christian Rozeboom, who led this position with 828 snaps played last season, but he struggled with a 59.0 PFF grade. To replace him, the Rams signed Nate Landman, who figures to compete for a starting job and who would likely be an upgrade. The 2022 undrafted free agent has finished with PFF grades of 72.0 and 65.7 over the past two seasons respectively, over snap counts of 809 and 543 respectively. He is at his best against the run, with PFF grades of 85.4 and 73.9, while finishing below 60 in coverage in both seasons. At the very least, he should play a situational role as a run stopper, but he might end up in a bigger role than that, giving the alternatives. The Rams also used a 5th round pick on Chris Paul, but he figures to be a liability if forced into a significant role as a rookie. This is an underwhelming position group overall, but the Rams at least have some intriguing options. 

Grade: B-

Secondary

The Rams’ secondary remains essentially the same as last season, when they were a decent, but unspectacular group. Cobie Durant was their highest rated cornerback, although largely by default, as he had just a 63.7 PFF grade across 15 starts. A 3rd round pick in 2022, Durant showed potential as a rookie with a 73.3 PFF grade across 281 snaps, but he couldn’t translate that into a larger role in his second season in the league, with a 56.9 PFF grade across 642 snaps, before taking a step forward in his third season in the league in 2024. In 2025, he could continue being decent, but he could also potentially regress.

Darious Williams was the Rams’ other outside cornerback last season and he was mediocre with a 60.0 PFF grade across 11 starts. He’s had a solid career, with six straight seasons of 60 or better on PFF, including three seasons above 70, but last season was the worst of those six seasons and now he’s heading into his age 32 season, so he could continue declining. He did have a 79.5 PFF grade as recently as 2023, so he may have some bounce back potential, but his best days are almost definitely behind him.

In sub packages, safety Quentin Lake would most frequently move to the slot and between the two positions Lake led this secondary with 1,070 snaps played last season. The 2022 6th round pick flashed talent in his first two seasons in the league, with PFF grades of 71.7 and 71.2 across snap counts of 63 and 451 respectively, but he couldn’t translate that to a larger role in 2024, finishing with a decent but underwhelming 62.9 PFF grade in 2024. He’s still relatively young in his age 26 season, so he could have some untapped potential, but most likely his 2025 season will be similar to his 2024 season.

Kamren Curl was the other starting safety. He was solid with a 66.2 PFF grade, which was actually the lowest single season grade of his 5-year career. The 2020 7th round pick has finished in the 60s on PFF in four of five seasons in the league and maxed out at 82.9 in 2022, though that will likely prove to be a fluke. He’s still relatively young in his age 26 season and he should have another solid season, with the potential for more.

When Lake moves to the slot in sub packages, Kamren Kitchens comes in to take his spot at safety. The 2024 3rd round pick had a solid rookie season in a part-time role, finishing with a PFF grade of 67.7 across 514 snaps. He has the potential to take a step forward in his second season in the league in 2025 and, if injuries knock out either of their starters, Kitchens seems prepared to step in and start for an extended period of time if needed. The Rams also have another second year safety, Jaylen McCollough. He had a 62.0 PFF grade across 336 snaps last season, which isn’t bad, but he didn’t play as well as Kitchens and he went undrafted, while Kitchens went in the 3rd round, so McCollough will almost definitely remain behind Kitchens on the depth chart.

At cornerback, the Rams have veteran Ahkello Witherspoon as a depth option, as well as 2022 6th round pick Derion Kendrick, who is coming back from a torn ACL that cost him all of 2024. Witherspoon has finished above 60 on PFF in six of eight seasons in the league, including three seasons above 70, while starting 62 of 90 games played over that stretch. He’s now going into his age 30 season and only had a 61.7 PFF grade across 493 snaps last season, but, as far as reserve options go, he’s a pretty good one. Kendrick, meanwhile, played snap counts of 483 and 857 in 2022 and 2023 before missing last season with injury, but he struggled with PFF grades of 43.7 and 59.8 respectively and now he’s coming off of a major injury, which hurts his projection further. He should be buried on the depth chart and only play in case of emergencies. This is likely to remain a decent, but unspectacular secondary in 2025.

Grade: B

Kicker

The Rams used a 6th round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft on a kicker in Joshua Karty. He finished his rookie year slightly below average, costing his team 2.80 points compared to an average kicker. He made 85.3% of his field goals, but had a relatively low level of difficulty on his kicks, attempting just 13 kicks of 40+ yards last season, missing 3 of them, while missing twice from inside 40. He still has a high upside though and could take a step forward in his second season in the league in 2025.

Grade: B-

Conclusion

The Rams finished last season with a 10-7 record, despite having the 10th most adjusted games lost to injury of any team in the league, including the 6th most adjusted games lost to injury on offense. They should be healthier this season and their schedule looks likely to be easier, but they ranked just 16th in first down rate differential and 22nd in yards per play differential last season, which is more predictive year-to-year than win/loss record. The Rams were a lot better down the stretch once they got fully healthy, but it is unrealistic to expect any team to be fully healthy for a whole season. Additionally, there is the issue of quarterback Matt Stafford’s age, now in his age 37 season, which is around when a lot of quarterbacks suffer significant declines. If that happened, that would obviously have a significant negative effect on this team. The Rams also have by far the toughest schedule of any team in their division.

Prediction: 9-8, 3rd in NFC West

Quarterback

The Rams won the Super Bowl at the end of the 2021 season, but they were never a team built for consistent long-term success, as they mortgaged the future to win the ultimate prize, trading away numerous high draft picks and borrowing significant amounts of future cap space in order to build a team good enough to win it all. The collapse came quicker and harder than most expected though, as they fell to 5-12 the following season, the worst record ever by a defending Super Bowl Champion. Part of it their collapse was the key players they didn’t bring back from the previous season, but they never would have fallen as far as they did without injuries, as they had the second most adjusted games lost to injury in the league in 2022 and those injuries disproportionately affected their most important players. Going into 2023, the Rams were likely to be healthier, but there was still a lot of reason for concern with this team. 

In an attempt to improve their long-term cap situation, the Rams moved on from even more expensive key players from their Super Bowl team last off-season, leaving behind a seemingly underwhelming roster and the league’s second highest dead cap hit at 79.4 million, about 35.3% of the overall cap. Making matters worse, three players, Aaron Donald, Cooper Kupp, and Matt Stafford, counted for another 28.2% of the cap and all three were on the wrong side of 30 and coming off of significant injuries. That left just 36.5% of the cap for the rest of this roster, which mostly consisted of young players on rookie contracts, most of whom were mid or late round draft picks, as the Rams had picked just twice in the top-50 over the previous six drafts, with no first round picks, as a result of all their aggressive trades for veterans. 

However, the Rams exceeded expectations in a big way in 2023, finishing with a 10-7 record, ranking 17th in DVOA, and qualifying for a post-season berth. The Rams might not have had many high draft picks in recent years nor did they have much financial flexibility last off-season, but they have consistently done a good job of finding talent outside of the top-50 picks and that was a big part of the reason for their surprising success in 2023.

The Rams had a lot more financial flexibility this off-season and they had a first round pick for the first time since 2016, but there are reasons to believe the Rams won’t be able to take a step forward in 2024. For one, they were incredibly lucky with injuries a year ago, as they went from one of the most injury plagued teams in the league to one of the least, with the fewest adjusted games lost to injury in the league in 2023. On top of that, that aforementioned aging core of Stafford, Kupp, and Donald got another year older, with the latter opting to hang them up this off-season, after a 10-year Hall of Fame career, which will be a huge loss for their defense.

For the Rams to have a good chance of making it back to the post-season, they will need quarterback Matt Stafford to continue playing at a relatively high level and stay healthy. Stafford’s long-term outlook looked questionable following the 2022 season, when he completed 68.0% of his passes for an average of 6.89 YPA, 10 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions in just 9 games before going down for the season with injury, but he bounced back to form in 2023, completing 62.6% of his passes for an average of 7.61 YPA, 24 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. 

Over the past 13 seasons, dating back to his third season in the league in 2011, Stafford has completed 63.8% of his passes for an average of 7.42 YPA, 338 touchdowns, and 159 interceptions in 193 starts, while finishing above 70 on PFF ten times and finishing above 80 six times. He’s going into his age 36 season now though, so it’s fair to be concerned about his age and question how much longer he can continue playing at this level, especially with injuries costing him time in three of the previous five seasons.

When Stafford was out in 2022, the Rams went just 2-6, but they are at least better prepared for a potential Stafford absence this time around, signing veteran Jimmy Garoppolo in free agency. Garoppolo has been a starter for most of the past six seasons, completing 67.4% of his passes for an average of 8.16 YPA, 82 touchdowns, and 46 interceptions in 56 starts, and likely would have at least gotten a look as a stopgap starter somewhere this off-season, if not for the fact that he’s suspended for the first two games of the season. 

Garoppolo struggled last season away from Kyle Shanahan’s play calling and the 49ers’ talented supporting cast in San Francisco, completing 65.1% of his passes for an average of 7.13 YPA, 7 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions in six starts with the Raiders before being benched, and he’s now going into his age 33 season with a significant injury history, with 32 games missed from 2018-2022, but he’s still at least an above average backup and he’ll play in a very similar scheme with the Rams as the one in which he had success with the 49ers. 

The Rams won’t have Garoppolo for the first two games of the season, so if Stafford gets hurt early in the season, they would have to turn to 2023 4th round pick Stetson Bennett, who has never thrown a regular season pass, but Garoppolo will give them a good insurance policy for the rest of the season. Stafford’s age and injury history are concerns, but he could still remain a high level starter for another season and, if he gets hurt, Garoppolo probably won’t be a huge drop off, so, overall, this is an enviable quarterback room.

Grade: A-

Receiving Corps

The mid-to-late round draft pick who made the biggest impact for the Rams in 2023 was Puka Nacua, who had one of the best rookie years ever by a wide receiver, with a 105/1486/6 slash line and a 2.59 yards per route run average, despite only being a 5th round pick. Nacua’s dominant rookie season started when Cooper Kupp missed the first four games of the season with injury, but Nacua outshined Kupp even after Kupp’s return, as Kupp was limited to a 59/737/5 slash line, 61.4 yards per game, and a 1.86 yards per route run average, his worst season since 2020, before he was paired with Stafford. In 2021 and 2022 combined, Kupp averaged 106.1 yards per game and 2.87 yards per route run, making him one of the best wide receivers in the league over that span.

Kupp is now going into his age 31 season, so his best days are probably behind him, but he has a good chance to remain at least an above average #2 receiver in 2024, even if he continues declining. In his career, he’s averaged a 105/1306/9 slash line per 17 games and a 2.28 yards per route run average, so he would be declining from a pretty high base point. Nacua, meanwhile, will remain the #1 receiver and, while he could regress after such a dominant rookie season, he should still remain a high level player. He and Kupp should be one of the better wide receiver duos in the league this season.

Tutu Atwell was the Rams’ #3 receiver for most of the year, playing 687 snaps total, but he struggled with just a 39/483/3 slash line and a 1.19 yards per route run average and was benched down the stretch for DeMarcus Robinson, who was a lot better. Robinson played 363 of the 396 snaps he played last season in the final 7 games of the Rams’ season, coinciding with a 6-1 record by the Rams, and he had a 23/332/4 slash line in those 7 games, while averaging 1.66 yards per route run. Robinson is a 8-year veteran with only a career 0.96 yards per route run average though and he now heads into his age 30 season. The Rams kept him on a 1-year, 4 million dollar deal this off-season, so he figures to remain the #3 receiver, but it’s unlikely over a full season that he will continue playing at the level he played down the stretch last season.

Atwell remains on the roster, likely as the #4 wide receiver, meaning he would need an injury ahead of him on the depth chart to see a significant role. Atwell was a 2nd round pick in 2021 and is still only going into his age 25 season, but he hasn’t shown much in three seasons in the league, totaling 57 catches in 37 games, with a career 1.34 yards per route run average, so he’s best off as a reserve. The Rams also used a 6th round pick in this year’s draft on Jordan Whittington, although he would likely need multiple injuries ahead of him on the depth chart to see any sort of real playing time and it’s very likely he would struggle if that happened.

Tyler Higbee was the Rams’ starting tight end last season, a role he has played in since his second season in the league in 2017, starting all 109 games he has played since. He hasn’t been bad in that role, averaging 1.42 yards per route run and a 49/515/3 slash line per season over that stretch, while mostly being a solid run blocker, but he’s going into his age 31 season in 2024, he showed some signs of decline in 2023, with just a 47/495/2 slash line and a 1.09 yards per route run average, and he suffered a brutal knee injury, including a torn ACL, in the playoffs last season, making him very questionable for the start of the 2024 season. Even if he can return early in the season, it seems likely he won’t be as good as he’s been in the past, given his age and injury history.

No Rams tight end played more than 192 snaps or caught more than 10 passes in the regular season behind Higbee last season, but the Rams prepared for a potential Higbee absence and/or decline in 2024 by signing ex-Seahawks tight end Colby Parkinson to a 3-year, 22.5 million dollar deal in free agency. Parkinson didn’t show a lot in his four seasons in Seattle, playing sparingly in his first two seasons in the league and only seeing part time roles over the past two seasons, with slash lines of 25/322/2 and 25/247/2, but he has had a decent 1.32 yards per route run average over the past two seasons, he’s a decent blocker, and the 2020 4th round pick is only in his age 25 season, so he could have untapped upside.  Parkinson is a projection to a larger role and was probably overpaid this off-season, but he could be a decent replacement for Higbee and he could rotate with Higbee, even after he returns. 

Behind Higbee and Parkinson, the Rams still have Davis Allen, their nominal backup tight end last season, though the 2023 5th round pick played very sparingly as a rookie. He did have a decent 1.28 yards per route run average in his limited rookie season action, but even if Higbee misses time early in the season, it’s hard to see Allen having a big role, given how infrequently the Rams use multiple tight ends on the field at the same time. This is an above average receiving corps overall, led by one of the best wide receiver duos in the league in Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp.

Grade: B+

Running Backs

Another mid-to-late round pick who made a big impact last season was Kyren Williams, a 2022 5th round pick who led the team with 228 carries for 1,144 yards and 12 touchdowns, a 5.02 YPC average. Williams did that in just 12 games and, unsurprisingly, the Rams went just 2-3 without him, as opposed to 8-4 with him, as the other running backs on this roster combined for just 608 yards and 5 touchdowns on 186 carries, an average of 3.27 YPC.

Williams is not without flaws. He’s undersized at 5-9 197 and, unsurprisingly given his size, has had issues carrying the load and staying healthy, dating back to his collegiate days. He benefited from a great offense around him last season and an offensive line that ranked 5th on PFF in run blocking grade. He is a one-year wonder, seeing just 44 nondescript touches as a rookie in 2022. He also has struggled in passing situations, struggling mightily as a pass blocker and averaging just 0.70 yards per route run and 4.70 yards per target in his career.

Because of all of that, the Rams used a third round pick in this year’s draft on Blake Corum, who could spell Williams frequently to try to keep him healthier and who will likely take on a big role in passing situations. The only two backup running backs the Rams brought back from last season were Zach Evans, a 2023 6th round pick who had just 19 rushing yards on 9 carries as a rookie, and Ronnie Rivers, a 2022 undrafted free agent who has just 150 rushing yards on 41 carries in his career, so Corum doesn’t have much competition for the #2 role. 

Evans and Rivers aren’t even guaranteed roster spots, as the Rams added veteran Boston Scott to the mix this off-season. He only has 373 touches in six seasons in the league, but his experience could give him the edge on the #3 back job. The Rams’ #3 back would only see a significant role in case of injury though, with Williams and Corum likely to see the vast majority of the touches as long as both are healthy. Even if Williams has his issues as a lead back, this is a solid backfield, with Corum being added to give them needed depth behind Williams.

Grade: B+

Offensive Line

The Rams’ offensive line was much improved in 2023 compared to 2022. I already mentioned their dominance in run blocking, where they ranked 5th on PFF. They weren’t nearly as good in pass protection, ranking 20th, but that was still a big step up from 2022, when they ranked 25th in pass protection and 19th in run blocking. The biggest reason for their improvement was guard Kevin Dotson, who the Rams acquired in a trade from the Steelers before the season started for just a swap of late round picks.

A 4th round pick in 2020, Dotson showed promise in the first three seasons of his career in Pittsburgh, making 30 starts and receiving PFF grades of 66.2, 64.5, and 65.4, but the Steelers still felt he was expendable after revamping their offensive line last off-season and traded him ahead of the final year of his rookie deal. That proved to be a mistake, as Dotson broke out with a career best 85.2 PFF grade in 14 starts in 2023. The Rams then rewarded him this off-season with a 3-year, 48 million dollar contract. He’s a one-year wonder in terms of playing at the level he played at in 2023 and might not repeat that dominant season, but he’s still in his prime in his age 28 season and could easily continue playing at an above average level in 2024.

Dotson wasn’t the only guard the Rams gave a big contract to this off-season, using some of their newfound cap space to sign ex-Lion Jonah Jackson to a 3-year, 51 million dollar deal. Jackson’s arrival will push incumbent Steve Avila inside to center, but Jackson isn’t necessarily going to be an upgrade on Avila, a 2023 2nd round pick who had a decent 61.1 PFF grade in 17 starts as a rookie, while Avila isn’t necessarily going to be an upgrade over incumbent center Cameron Shelton, who had a 64.5 PFF grade in 17 starts last season and was allowed to leave as a free agent this off-season.

Jackson did have PFF grades of 69.3 and 66.1 in 2021 and 2022, but he fell to 59.7 in 2023 and also had a 57.0 PFF grade as a 3rd round rookie in 2020, so it’s hard to justify him being the 7th highest paid guard in the league in terms of average annual salary. Avila, meanwhile, has a high upside and could take a step forward in his second season in the league in 2024, but having to change positions probably hurts his chances of that happening. Even in a best case scenario in which Avila takes a step forward and Jackson bounces back to his top form, the Rams’ offensive line won’t be significantly better than a year ago and the big investment the Rams made in Jackson is unlikely to be worth it.

At left tackle, Alaric Jackson is another player who had a solid season in 2023, despite not being a high draft pick. In fact, Jackson wasn’t drafted at all back in 2021, but he still had a solid 66.2 PFF grade in 15 starts last season. He’s only had one season as a full-time starter, but he flashed potential in 6 starts in his first two seasons in the league and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he continued at least being a decent starter in 2024 and beyond.

Right tackle Rob Havenstein is by far the longest tenured member of this offensive line, becoming a starter back in his rookie season in 2015 and making 130 starts in nine seasons since. However, with that experience comes age and the potential for decline, now going into his age 32 season. He is starting from a pretty high base point, finishing above 70 on PFF in all but two seasons in the league, including four straight and a career best 81.8 in 2023, so he has a good chance to remain at least an above average starter, but he’s unlikely to match his career best season from a year ago, given his age, and if he drops off significantly, that would hurt this offense.

Joe Noteboom was their top reserve offensive lineman a year ago, playing 573 snaps in 10 games (8 starts), and he’s a versatile reserve who can play any position except probably center. He did struggle with a 52.3 PFF grade in 2023, but the 2018 3rd round pick has finished above 60 on PFF in four of six seasons in the league (31 starts), so he’s a good reserve option to have. Other reserve options include guard Logan Bruss, a 2022 3rd round pick, tackle Warren McClendon, a 2023 5th round pick, guard/center Beaux Limmer, a 6th round rookie, and tackle/guard KT Leveston, a 7th round rookie, but they are all underwhelming options. 

Bruss has yet to play a snap in two seasons in the league, missing his rookie season with injury and then spending most of last season on the practice squad, McClendon played just 32 snaps as a rookie, while Limmer and Leveston are probably too raw to make positive contributions in year one. The Rams have a solid starting five on the offensive line and Noteboom is a good reserve, but the Rams would be in trouble if they lost multiple offensive linemen to injury at the same time, something that didn’t happen a year ago, but that could easily happen in 2024.

Grade: B+

Interior Defenders

As I mentioned, the Rams lost interior defender Aaron Donald to retirement this off-season, which is a big deal because he still had a 90.9 PFF grade across 865 snaps last season and was still one of the best defensive players in the league. Even with him last season, the Rams still ranked just 22nd in defensive DVOA and that was despite having the fewest adjusted games to injury on defense of any team in the league, so the Rams could be in some serious trouble on this side of the ball in 2024.

The Rams do still have some impressive players though and one of their best is another interior defender Kobie Turner, who had a 83.8 PFF grade last season on 695 snaps, playing the run well and excelling as a pass rusher, with 9 sacks, 8 hits, and a 10.1% pressure rate. Turner was yet another mid-round pick who had a big season in 2023, as he was only a third round rookie. With Donald gone, Turner should see an expanded role. He could regress a little on a higher snap count, but he could also continue developing into one of the best interior defenders in the league.

Jonah Williams, who was third at the position in snaps played last season behind Donald and Turner with 597 snaps, is also no longer with the team, although he was pretty mediocre with a 55.6 PFF grade. To replace Donald and Williams’ snaps, on top of giving more snaps to Turner, the Rams also added Braden Fiske in the second round of the draft and will likely give a bigger snap count to Bobby Brown. A 4th round pick in 2021, Brown only played 186 snaps in his first two seasons in the league, but impressed in a slightly expanded role in 2023, with a 72.0 PFF grade on 313 snaps. He’s a much better run defender than pass rusher though, with a 3.9% pressure rate last season and a 4.7% pressure rate for his career, so he could struggle if forced into more pass rushing situations in an expanded role. Fiske, meanwhile, profiles as a future starter, but could struggle through growing pains in year one.

Behind Turner, Fiske, and Brown, the Rams have Larrell Murchison, who played 252 snaps last season, Desjuan Johnson, who played 102 snaps last season, and 6th round rookie Tyler Davis, who could play a deep reserve role in year one. All are underwhelming options though. Murchison has finished below 60 on PFF in all four seasons in the league on an average of 173 snaps per season, including a 49.5 PFF grade in 2023. Johnson was just a 7th round pick in 2023 and didn’t show much in limited action as a rookie. Davis, meanwhile, is unlikely to make much of a positive impact in his first season in the league. Overall, this is a pretty thin interior defender group behind Kobie Turner and they will miss Aaron Donald in a big way.

Grade: B

Edge Defenders

The Rams also got a big contribution from a mid-round rookie at the edge defender position last season, with 3rd round rookie Byron Young receiving a 63.5 PFF grade on 967 snaps as a rookie, while totaling 8 sacks, 13 hits, and a 10.0% pressure rate. He should remain at least a capable starter in 2024. Michael Hoecht was the starter opposite him and he also was decent on a big snap count, with a 61.7 PFF grade on 960 snaps, while totaling 6 sacks, 5 hits, and a 10.5% pressure rate. Undrafted in 2020, Hoecht was in his first season as a starter in 2023, but he also flashed some potential with a 65.4 PFF grade on 409 snaps in 2022, while totaling 4.5 sacks, 4 hits, and a 11.8% pressure rate.

Depth was a huge problem at the edge defender position in 2023, which is why Young and Hoecht played so many snaps last season, 5th and 6th in the NFL among edge defenders. In fact, the Rams didn’t have another edge defender play more than 100 snaps last season. That should change this year though, as the Rams used their first round pick on Jared Verse, who will play a significant role in rotation with Young and Hoecht. The Rams also used a 5th round pick on Brennan Jackson to give them another deep reserve option and they could get more out of 2023 5th round pick Nick Hampton and 2023 6th round pick Ochaun Mathis, who played just 67 snaps and 75 snaps respectively as rookies. This is a decent, if unspectacular position group, but at least their depth should be better than a year ago.

Grade: B-

Linebackers

Off ball linebacker Ernest Young is another recent mid round pick who was a big part of the Rams’ season in 2023. A 3rd round pick in 2021, Jones had a 82.1 PFF grade on 932 snaps last season, a breakout year for a player who had previously had PFF grades of 59.3 and 63.6 on snap counts of 440 and 723 respectively in his first two seasons in the league. He’s a one-year wonder in terms of playing at the level he played at last season and could regress in 2024, but he’s only in his age 25 season and could have permanently turned a corner as a high level off ball linebacker.

The rest of this linebacking corps struggled mightily though, with Christian Rozeboom and Troy Reeder ranking second and third in snaps played at 552 and 194 and posting PFF grades of 49.0 and 45.7 respectively. Rozeboom is a 2020 undrafted free agent who only played 8 career snaps prior to last season, while Reeder has finished below 60 on PFF in three of five seasons in the league and is now going into his age 30 season. The Rams didn’t make any significant additions at this position this off-season, so Rozeboom will remain the starter next to Jones and Reeder will remain the top reserve and both figure to continue struggling at their roles. Jones elevates this position group significantly, but the rest of the group is so bad that they’re still underwhelming overall.

Grade: C+

Secondary

To mask their lack of depth at linebacker, the Rams frequently used three safeties together in sub packages, with one playing closer to the line of scrimmage as a coverage linebacker. The Rams didn’t bring back Jordan Fuller this off-season, after he had a solid 66.7 PFF grade in 17 starts last season, but they signed Kamren Curl to a 2-year, 9 million dollar deal to replace him and he should be more than an adequate replacement. 

A 7th round pick in 2020, Curl has started 53 of the 60 games he’s played in four seasons in the league, while finishing above 65 on PFF in all four seasons. Curl’s best season came in 2022 when he had a 82.9 PFF grade on 727 snaps in 12 games and, while that looks like an outlier, given that he was below 70 in his other three seasons, it shows his upside. Still only in his age 25 season, Curl should at least be a solid starter in 2024 with the upside for more.

Russ Yeast (800 snaps), John Johnson (518 snaps), and Quentin Lake (451 snaps) all saw roles at safety behind Fuller last season, with Yeast being the one who most frequently played as a de facto linebacker. Yeast and Johnson struggled with PFF grades of 57.0 and 55.8, but Lake played pretty well with a 71.2 PFF grade. The Rams also added to this group this off-season with third round pick Kamren Kitchens.

Yeast will likely remain the starter opposite Curl, despite his struggles last season. Only a 7th round pick in 2022, Yeast was underwhelming on 113 snaps as a rookie before struggling in a bigger role in 2023 and he figures to continue struggling in 2024. Lake or Kinchens could push him for his starting job, but Lake is an inexperienced 2022 6th round pick, with 514 career snaps, while Kinchens could struggle through growing pains as a rookie. Johnson is the most experienced of the bunch, starting 88 of the 103 games he’s played in his career, and he was a solid starter in his prime, but he’s now heading into his age 30 season and his best years seem to be behind him, so he will likely remain only a part-time player and perhaps a mediocre one at that.

The two biggest additions the Rams made on defense this off-season were cornerback Darious Williams and Tre’Davious White, signed to a 3-year, 22.5 million dollar deal and an incentivized 1-year, 4.25 million dollar deal respectively. White should be a starter if healthy, but that’s a big if, considering he has been limited to 21 games over the past three seasons due to a torn ACL and a torn achilles. White was a high level cornerback before his injuries, surpassing a 70 grade on PFF in three of his first four seasons in the league, but he has not been the same since and the achilles tear he is working back from now only complicates things. He’s still only in his age 29 season, but it’s possible his best days are behind him at this point.

For Williams, this is a return to the Rams, where he spent the first four seasons of his career from 2018-2021. The former undrafted free agent became a starter in 2020 and posted PFF grades of 80.0 and 65.3 in his two seasons as a starter with the Rams, before posting PFF grades of 62.6 and 79.5 as a starter with the Jaguars over the past two seasons. In total, he has started 52 of the 64 games he has played over the past four seasons, including all 17 last season. He’s going into his age 31 season now and could start to decline, but he has a good chance to remain an at least a solid starter.

The Rams’ top three cornerbacks last season were Akhello Witherspoon (1,060 snaps), Derion Kendrick (857 snaps), and Cobie Durant (642 snaps), who had PFF grades of 64.3, 59.8, and 56.9, so it won’t be hard for Williams and White to be an upgrade, even if Williams is on the wrong side of 30 and White is coming off of another significant injury. Witherspoon is no longer with the team, while Kendrick and Durant figure to compete for the #3 cornerback job behind Williams and White. 

Both Kendrick and Durant struggled last season, but Durant should have the higher upside, as he went in the 4th round in 2022 and flashed potential with a 73.3 PFF grade on 281 snaps as a rookie, while Kendrick only went in the 6th round in 2022 and struggled with a 43.7 PFF grade on 483 snaps as a rookie. It’s possible neither will be even a capable third cornerback in 2024, but Durant has the better chance. Overall, this should be an upgraded secondary compared to a year ago with Kamren Curl, Darious Williams, and Tre’Davious White added, but this group still has problems.

Grade: B

Conclusion

The Rams made some significant additions through free agency and the draft this off-season and they were a playoff qualifier a year ago, but they are also likely to have more injuries than a year ago, when they had the fewest adjusted games lost to injury in the league, and they will miss retired interior defender Aaron Donald, who was still one of the best defensive players in the league. Their success is also very dependent on quarterback Matt Stafford not declining and staying healthy, both of which are not guarantees, given that he is in his age 36 season and has dealt with serious injuries in recent years. In the weak NFC, the Rams should still have a good chance to qualify for the playoffs again, unless Stafford gets hurt or drops off significantly, but I wouldn’t expect them to take a step forward from a year ago, despite their off-season additions.

Update: The Rams’ already weak defense took another big hit when they traded away linebacker Ernest Jones, rather than re-signing him long-term ahead of the final year of his rookie deal. The Rams are likely to be on the outside looking in for a playoff spot at season’s end, especially given their tough schedule.

Prediction: 8-9, 3rd in NFC West