OL Rankings & other position grades

With the regular season in the books, where did the Rams’ top players rank at each position based on PFF grades? https://t.co/mq8cAbxaTF

— Rams Wire (@TheRamsWire) January 13, 2022

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[see link above]

The Los Angeles Rams finished the regular season with an impressive 12-5 record, winning the NFC West for the third time in five years under Sean McVay. None of that will matter if they don’t have success in the playoffs, however, seeking to win their first Super Bowl since the 1999 season.

It’s no surprise that the Rams won as many games as they did, given the construction of their star-studded roster. Their top players stepped up, too, finishing among the top guys at their respective positions.

Looking at Pro Football Focus’ grades now that the regular season is in the books, two Rams finished first at their position – and one of them wasn’t Cooper Kupp.

Here’s where qualified Rams players ranked at each spot this season.

Quarterback

11. Matthew Stafford: 80.7

Stafford had a very good first season with the Rams, but it wasn’t enough to earn him a spot among the top 10 quarterbacks in PFF’s grading system. It was, however, the fifth-best grade of his career since coming into the NFL in 2009. He’s ranked in the top 10 four times before and hasn’t finished lower than 17th in any of the last six seasons.

The highest-graded quarterback this season was Tom Brady followed by Joe Burrow.

Running back

32. Darrell Henderson Jr.: 68.7

40. Sony Michel: 65.8

With how often teams change out their starting running backs throughout a season, there end up being more than just 32 starters at this position. But even still, neither Henderson nor Michel ranked very high this season. Michel seemed to play better than Henderson when he was the starter, but Henderson still finished with a higher grade.

Wide receiver

2. Cooper Kupp: 92.3

27. Robert Woods: 75.7

68. Odell Beckham Jr.: 67.8

107. Van Jefferson: 59.8

You’ll notice there isn’t a “1.” next to Kupp’s name. That’s not a typo. He really wasn’t the highest-graded receiver despite leading the NFL in receptions, yards and touchdown catches. The top spot went to Davante Adams for the second consecutive season, but that doesn’t diminish what Kupp accomplished. This was by far his highest-graded season after 18th was his best finish among receivers prior to 2021.

Woods was having a terrific season before tearing his ACL, and his replacement didn’t quite fill his shoes completely. Beckham still had an impact this season but he’s not the blocker or reliable receiver that Woods was.

Jefferson suffered from his share of drops and graded poorly in run blocking, which is why his overall grade was on the lower side.

Tight end

26. Tyler Higbee: 67.2

Higbee was good but not great this season, ranking 26th at his position. What hurt his overall grade was run blocking, where he earned a mark of just 61.5. This was Higbee’s lowest overall grade since 2017 when he finished with 62.5, so he’s had better years than he did in 2021.

Offensive tackle

5. Andrew Whitworth: 86.1

14. Rob Havenstein: 81.7

It doesn’t get much better than this at tackle. The Rams are fortunate to have Whitworth and Havenstein playing as well as they are, proving to be two of the best tackles in football. And for Whitworth to do what he’s done at the age of 40, it’s remarkable he’s still able to rank among the best in the league. It’s no wonder Stafford was only sacked 30 times.

Guard

25. Austin Corbett: 69.6

33. David Edwards: 67.5

The Rams got solid play out of their guards, with both Corbett and Edwards ranking among the top half of players at their position. Both of them played poorly in the season finale, however, which lowered their overall season grades and ended the year on a low note.

Center

5. Brian Allen: 80.1

No one would have predicted Allen to finish as a top-five center in the NFL after seeing him struggle mightily as a starter in 2019. But the Rams entrusted him to step up in place of Austin Blythe and he didn’t disappoint. He deserves a ton of credit for playing as well as he did.

Interior defender

1. Aaron Donald: 93.6

22. A’Shawn Robinson: 72.5

31. Greg Gaines: 68.1

53. Sebastian Joseph-Day: 61.6

The defensive line was a real strength of the Rams this season, obviously led by Donald. For the sixth straight year, Donald was PFF’s highest-graded defender in the NFL, regardless of position.

Robinson quietly had a good season for the Rams, too, especially late in the year. But Gaines and Joseph-Day both deserved to be graded higher for the way they played. They should be considered two of the better nose tackles in the league thanks to their pass-rush ability, which is tough to find at that position.

Edge defender

8. Von Miller: 88.7

17. Ogbonnia Okoronkwo: 79.1

33. Leonard Floyd: 70.4

104. Terrell Lewis: 49.8

Miller has played well in recent weeks, showing that the Rams were right to make a bold trade for him before the deadline. Aside from 2019, Miller has finished as a top-eight edge rusher every year he’s been healthy in the NFL. His two lowest finishes were 22nd in 2019 and eighth this year. Otherwise, he was in the top four every year.

Okoronkwo played a more limited role after Miller was acquired but as a designated pass rusher, he had a decent year.

Floyd ended the year with his lowest grade of the season against the 49ers, but it was still another quality campaign for the veteran edge rusher. Last season, he also finished 33rd among all edge defenders.

Lewis has been a healthy scratch since Week 13, so he hasn’t had the best season and is unlikely to contribute in the playoffs.

Linebacker

33. Ernest Jones: 58.6

65. Troy Reeder: 45.6

Jones was playing well before injuring his ankle, as evidenced by his ranking among linebackers. Reeder, on the other hand, has not had the best season. He’s missed a bunch of tackles and struggled against the run, while his coverage grade of 42.2 leaves plenty to be desired. The Rams need to improve at this position next season and find someone to start alongside Jones.

Cornerback

1. Jalen Ramsey: 84.5

36. Dont’e Deayon: 67.4

54. Darious Williams: 65.1

86. David Long Jr.: 58.8

Ramsey is the second Rams player to finish as the highest-graded at his position. It’s also the second time he’s been the highest-graded cornerback in the NFL, also finishing in the top spot in 2017 with the Jaguars. Ramsey was excellent in 2020, but he was even better this season, tying a career-high with four picks and also recording nine tackles for a loss.

Williams has been the No. 2 cornerback when healthy but his play dropped off a bit after a breakout 2020. He was the fourth-best cornerback last season and dropped all the way to 54th this year.

Deayon has stepped up in a big way as the nickel corner, replacing Long in that role. The gap between these two players shows how much of an upgrade he’s been since that switch was made.

Safety

20. Jordan Fuller: 74.3

43. Taylor Rapp: 65.5

91. Nick Scott: 47.5

Fuller improved his overall grade from 65.6 to 74.3 this season, really grabbing hold of a leadership role for the Rams as their defensive signal caller. He’s become a critical part of the defense, which makes his loss so significant heading into the postseason.

Rapp played nearly every snap this season and finished 43rd at his position, which makes him an average safety. He hasn’t been great in coverage, though, which is an area the Rams would like to see him improve.

Scott has been the No. 3 safety all year but as you can see by his grade, he’s been a weak link in the secondary. His coverage grade of 47.0 ranked 91st among 97 qualified safeties.

I put Stafford at 5. He had some rough times, or was it McVay? But I think he is at 5.

💪 Highest-graded defender in the NFL
💪 90.0 run-defense grade (T-1st in NFL)
💪 92.7 pass-rush grade (1st among DI)@AaronDonald97: PFF’s Defensive Player of the Year pic.twitter.com/jfns0K57ws

— PFF (@PFF) January 13, 2022