Rams tweets etc… 6/4

from NFL Contender Tiers

Ralph Vacchiano

https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/nfl-contender-tiers-where-do-rams-eagles-patriots-land-after-blockbuster-deals

Tier 1: The front-runners

Los Angeles Rams (+600)
Seattle Seahawks (+1100)
Denver Broncos (+2000)

If you weren’t sure before, now you know: The Rams are going for it all, future be damned. That was clear by their offseason deals to fortify their secondary (with CBs Jaylen Watson and Trent McDuffie), and now it’s painfully obvious after their “F— them picks” deal for Myles Garrett, the reigning defensive player of the year.

Myles Garrett is widely regarded as the best defensive player in the NFL. Will his addition make the Rams the league’s best team? (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)

The one caveat to their chances is that their biggest threat comes from inside the division, with the reigning Super Bowl champion Seahawks. Seattle should be just as dangerous, even after losing RB Kenneth Walker III in free agency.

Meanwhile, in the AFC, the Broncos would have made the Super Bowl last season if they hadn’t been playing with a backup quarterback in the AFC Championship Game. A healthy Bo Nix, plus the addition of WR Jaylen Waddle, makes them the team to beat, especially if they can navigate a difficult schedule and emerge with home-field advantage.

Tier 2: Title contenders

New England Patriots (+1600)
Buffalo Bills (+1000)
Baltimore Ravens (+1000)
Philadelphia Eagles (+1600)

All four of the teams in this category are good enough to make a Super Bowl run, though they’ll head into the season with enough unanswered questions to prompt at least a little pause.

For example, there’s no reason to think the Patriots won’t be as good as they were last year, especially now that QB Drake Maye has his No. 1 WR in A.J. Brown. But they were the beneficiaries of a remarkably soft schedule last season that propelled them through the playoffs. The slate won’t be as easy this time around.

The A.J. Brown trade could be a win-win for the Patriots and the Eagles, who were already two of the better teams in the NFL. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

There’s also a lot of competition in the still-stacked AFC. The Bills will be serious contenders as long as QB Josh Allen is healthy. But can D.J. Moore find his old form and be the No. 1 WR Allen so desperately needs? And the Ravens are dangerous again, as long as QB Lamar Jackson and RB Derrick Henry are healthy. But belief in them requires a lot of faith in a first-year head coach (Jesse Minter).

Over in the NFC, the Eagles are still as loaded as ever, though they did just trade their best WR (Brown). The real question, though, is whether first-year offensive coordinator Sean Mannion can fix what has sometimes been a dysfunctional offense — especially in the passing game — with QB Jalen Hurts.