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znModeratorPFF@PFF
Most Big Time Throws in 2025:58 – Matthew Stafford
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37 – Caleb Williams
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35 – Bo Nix
34 – Sam Darnold
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32 – Drake Maye
31 – Dak Prescott
30 – Jordan Love, Trevor LawrenceznModeratorI think about this every time some media-celebrity decides to tell me who the best QBs in NFL history are. I mean, just imagine if Roger Staubach played under the rules Mahomes gets to play under. Or Gabriel, etc etc.
w
vOr Steve Dils! Let alone T.J. Rubley.
znModeratorScott Kacsmar@ScottKacsmar
Where does the Dan Reeves’ stigma as being a conservative coach that wrecked his quarterback’s chances at greatness come from? John Elway himself put a lot of that out there over the years in the media.
[tweet 3 in same series]
Scott Kacsmar@ScottKacsmar
People want you to believe Elway was winning SBs after carrying bad teams there. He didn’t.People want you to believe Brady was winning SBs during his statistical peak (2007-12). He didn’t.
Guys who won while they were the best QB?
89 Montana
94 Young
06 Peyton
22 MahomesznModeratorI’m in a board war on twitter
Seahawks Warrior@codajayla
Have you ever noticed, when people talk about the Rams, they avoid talking about special teams. You know why, because they are the Rams Special Needs Unit. Still haven’t proved that’s been fixed. They only talk about O and D. But when you talk about Seattle, it’s the entire teamzn@znramsfan
Rams replaced the long snapper, signed a special teams ace & new kicker, & hired a new STs coach. Rams upgraded both the D & STs & they’re still the team that lit the Seattle defense up–457 yrds passing in the 12/8 game & that was w/ Adams out. Why can’t you talk about that.Seahawks Warrior@codajayla
Because wins > stats. Seattle has one of, if not the best Special teams in the League and that is proven on the field. The Rams haven’t proven anything yet and the ST coach they hired was one on the bottom 5 in the NFL of 32, he was available for a reason.zn@znramsfan
All Rams gotta do is be *better* on STs & D. It’s still the offense that ate Seattle alive (including 1 game w/out Adams). It’s not a huge expectation to think improved Rams STs won’t (1) allow a ST TD, (2) and miss a FG, (3) and fumble a punt…all against the same team in 1 year. That’s a 17 point swing. Seattle won by 5 points combined in the last 2 SS/LAR games. The future? It doesn’t take delirous overconfidence to figure all 3 of those things won’t happen again in the 2 regular season games with the SS. Even modest improvement will disallow that kind of 3 mistake crash.znModeratorRams Bros.@RamsBrothers
Kobie Turner is a top-10 interior defensive tackle by all major metrics (pressures, sacks, elite space eater/run defender), and he is absolutely going to get paid by this organization.I think he has a huge year and finishes the season top-3 in sacks amongst DT’s.
znModeratorOnly player in football with 3+ YPRR since he was drafted. What a machine https://t.co/ZoufafPCxW
— Sosa Kremenjas (@QBsMVP) May 22, 2026
znModeratorScott Kacsmar@ScottKacsmar
The John Elway PR is a perfect storm:[to add to this]
Scott Kacsmar@ScottKacsmar
Where does the Dan Reeves’ stigma as being a conservative coach that wrecked his quarterback’s chances at greatness come from? John Elway himself put a lot of that out there over the years in the media.
What happened after the Reeves/Elway relationship ended created the perfect storm for another Elway folk tale:
•After Reeves was fired, Elway immediately put up career-best statistics that were previously thought to be unattainable in Denver. He then consistently played at that level.
•Elway spearheaded the revival of the AFC in the mid-90’s, and would win two Super Bowls to finish his career; beating Reeves in the last one.
•More than just a coaching change, the Broncos started superior talent for Elway to finally work with, including Shannon Sharpe, Terrell Davis, Ed McCaffrey, Anthony Miller, Rod Smith, and Gary Zimmerman.
•Since Denver never had a worthwhile running back in Reeves’ tenure, any thought to run the ball instead of putting in Elway’s hands could be deemed conservatively bad coaching.All the while it was ignored that:
•Reeves’ offense has worked very well for virtually every other quarterback he ever coached, with nearly all of them performing at a career-best level under him.
•The Broncos were more of a passing team under Reeves than they were after he was fired.
•Denver consistently ran the ball ineffectively in Elway’s comebacks, but they also consistently put the ball in Elway’s hands for all four quarters of those games.znModeratorCongratulations @Arsenal, on winning the Premier League! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/Y3TfHZG2H6
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) May 19, 2026
znModerator
May 22, 2026 at 11:16 am in reply to: Rams draft grades & assessments from everyone (including us) #164044znModerator***
Rams give inside look at 2026 draft with fantastic new video
The Rams take fans into the war room for the 2026 draft on the latest episode of ‘Behind The Grind’Cameron DaSilva
Teams don’t let fans inside the war room during the NFL draft, besides quick shots on the TV broadcast and for the prospect calls afterwards, but the Los Angeles Rams do a great job of pulling back the curtain a little bit.
Their video series “Behind The Grind” takes fans behind the scenes each offseason, whether it’s free agency, the draft, OTAs or training camp. And on the latest episode that was just released this week, the focus was on offseason additions.
After going through the team’s free-agent signings and Trent McDuffie’s extension, the episode gets into the draft. Assistant general manager John McKay provided insight on every pick the Rams made, beginning with Ty Simpson at No. 13 overall.
McKay said it started with area scout Ted Monago, who identified Simpson as a quality player. Simpson was then evaluated by the Over The Top scouts, and eventually, Les Snead and his team.
“Ty was somebody we had a lot of consensus love from, and there wasn’t really anybody dissenting and saying, ‘Hey, I don’t know if this guy’s a fit.’ It was pretty clear to see that he fit what we were looking for,” McKay said.
McKay then discussed why the Rams feel Max Klare is a fit for the team at tight end, being their second-round pick out of Ohio State. His well-rounded skill set blends well with what the Rams already have at tight end.
“When you’re identifying guys that can play in 13 (personnel), that versatility is a huge thing,” McKay said when talking about Klare.
When it came to Keagen Trost, his versatility really drew the Rams to him, and he was “an immediate favorite.” McKay believes he can play all five positions at a high level, and though he projects as a backup now, the Rams view him as a starter in the future.
CJ Daniels had equally unanimous buy-in from the Rams’ group. McKay highlighted his blocking ability and strong hands, while also mentioning that he’s a good route runner.
“Everything about CJ checked the box for us. We’re super fired up to get him,” McKay said.
The Rams’ final pick was defensive tackle Tim Keenan III. And as soon as the Rams went on the clock, Sean McVay pointed to the Alabama defensive lineman.
“Oh, baby. Go Big Tim? Big Timmy! Come on!” McVay said excitedly.
Keenan brings size to the defensive line that only Poona Ford possesses, which is part of the reason the Rams liked him as a fit at nose tackle. And as a high-character player with great leadership qualities, he’s exactly the type of player the Rams like.
The entire episode is insightful, showing a little bit of what goes on behind the scenes during the draft. Just don’t expect to see the “little argument” that led to McVay’s grumpy mood.
znModeratorScott Kacsmar@ScottKacsmar
The John Elway PR is a perfect storm:• Highly-touted NCAA QB people expected and wanted to be great
• Highlight-reel QB but inconsistent on accuracy/decisions
• Bad play was overlooked because GWDs make better highlight packages
• Lack of statistical analysis for QBs in his era hid flaws
• The Broncos fabricated his clutch success relative to other top QBs to create a false narrative as the NFL’s comeback king
• Took advantage of a weak AFC in the 80s, especially Martyball teams in crunch time
• Crushed in the SB 3x, so people figured it was his team instead of him throwing the game away
• Won at the end with much better stats on a truly stacked team, which helps people say he always had it in him
• Even in his first SB win, he played like crap, but one helicopter twirl highlight gets immortalized while Terrell Davis and the defense that stopped the 3x MVP were the real heroes
• Hollywood ending to win SB MVP in your last gameHe’s the #1 case in NFL history of a QB where people willingly ignore the huge volume of bad plays/games/seasons and focus squarely on the best moments of his career.
Things would be a lot different if we gave other QBs the same grace.
znModerator"The ideal slot defender is Jalen Ramsey in the Brandon Staley defense" — @sambruchhaus pic.twitter.com/Gy6dotPpqM
— SūmerSports (@SumerSports) May 21, 2026
Bucky Brooks@BuckyBrooks
This is really interesting for a few different reasons. Early in my scouting career, Dick Roach told our group that the ideal secondary would feature 1 FS and 4 CBs due to the ability to match up in man coverage vs pass. He described Shawn Springs as the ideal S/CB prototype who would play in the slot because he had enough to hold up vs the run but was a suffocating coverage player on the perimeter.As a player in the late 1990s, the Nickel or “Star” position was typically the best CB or the smartest defender due to the challenge of playing multiple roles. LeRoy Butler played that spot in Green Bay, James Hasty filled that role in KC and I watched a young Charles Woodson play there at times, but matchups dictated his alignment.
Long story short, the “Star” is one of the most important positions on the field, and the emerging trend is taking the game back to how it started with A-plus players playing in the slot.
Jourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigue
The idea is to make your best defender who is not attached to the LOS as “unavoidable” as possible, run and pass. Rams/Staley/Ramsey experimented w this in ‘20 (but as Bucky notes in great detail here, was borrowed from another era).Morris tried to carry that role forward in ‘21. That was an overall coach and player decision through McVay and Morris and Ramsey. Staley took the Chargers HC job but the plan was to continue developing that specific role. Every coach puts his own spin on things of course
Troy Hill was the original “Star”. But they saw how much offenses were dictated by Ramsey and were like, “uh so he moves their attack point based on his alignment, why don’t we move him around so we can predict their rules?” Same thing with AD except up front vs blocking surfaces/
The idea is to make your best defender who is not attached to the LOS as “unavoidable” as possible, run and pass. Rams/Staley/Ramsey experimented w this in ‘20 (but as Bucky notes in great detail here, was borrowed from another era). Today, it changes math on high volume of MOF [middle of field] passing game offenses + helps neutralize zone runs because he is loose from LOS though playing lower, and (if they align even further inside because they’re big and can tackle), even gap stuff. We’re seeing this player help neutralize heavy personnel packages in passing game too.
znModerator
znModeratorWhich teams have the best supporting casts for their QBs heading into the 2026 season? 🤔
Here are the top 10 teams from @RalphVacchiano’s rankings, based on conversations with NFL scouts and evaluating each offense without factoring in the quarterback.
Read the full article… pic.twitter.com/xShzhnV970
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) May 21, 2026
znModeratorOn the 1st post in this thread–I will let others speak up first. 😎
znModeratorRams ‘C’ grade for Matthew Stafford trade aged horribly
Five years after the Los Angeles Rams “lost” trade for Matthew Stafford, the deal looks wildly different now.Given that the Rams’ 2021 trade for Matthew Stafford was so immediately successful, it would be easy for fans to forget that many experts in the media were quick to deride Les Snead and Sean McVay for the deal when it happened. Five seasons later, Stafford has won a Super Bowl and an MVP award, stayed relatively healthy and available, and led the Rams to the playoffs four times.
On the flip side of the deal, the Detroit Lions, who were generally considered to be the “winners” of the trade by acquiring two first round picks and Jared Goff, just missed the playoffs for the third time in the last five years.
It would be fair to say that both franchises got what they wanted out of the deal, but at the time of the trade, it was the Rams who were criticized for overrating the difference between Stafford and Goff, while underrating the value of first round picks.
Who wins now?
The Athletic’s Sheil Kapadia gave the Rams a “C” for the trade back in 2021, but said the Lions deserved an “A”. He thought the ceiling for the Stafford-McVay pairing was high, but that the defense would have a hard time replicating their success from the past season:
Having said that, the move comes with plenty of risk. Defensive performance doesn’t always carry over year to year. The Rams’ defense is built on the talents of Donald and Ramsey. Those two players combined to miss just one regular-season game in 2020. But in the NFC divisional round, we caught a glimpse of what the Rams look like when one of them (in this case, Donald) is less than 100 percent. It wasn’t pretty.
Los Angeles also lost defensive coordinator Brandon Staley to the Chargers. And it could lose key free agents like safety John Johnson and edge rusher Leonard Floyd. The defense could be good in 2021, but there are no guarantees that it will be as good as it was in 2020.
The Lions understandably got a near-perfect grade because they got two first round picks for a quarterback who didn’t want to be there aore.
The point is Detroit has optionality. Having Goff’s contract on their books is not going to kill them. And they were able to pocket a pair of first-round picks. They did well in this trade by any objective measure.
It’s not hard to see why the Lions got an ‘A’ back in 2021 or how they’ve been able to turn the trade into a franchise turnaround since then. Under the leadership of head coach Dan Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes — a disciple of Snead over about two decades in the Rams front office — the Lions have done a phenomenal job of drafting and using their first round picks. That includes RB Jahmyr Gibbs and WR Jameson Williams, the two players that Detroit was able to get after maneuvering with the first rounders they got for Stafford.
To their credit, Detroit improved from 3 wins to 9 wins to 12 wins to 15 wins in the four seasons after trading Stafford to the Rams.
However, the loss of key members of the coaching staff in 2025 — ironic, given the points Kapadia made about Staley in 2021 — hurt the Lions last season, and they dropped to 9-8, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2022.
And Goff, who has managed to revive his career in Detroit and made the Pro Bowl in three of the last four years, has done exactly what the Lions wanted from him when the trade happened. He’s basically the same player that he was when the Rams went to the Super Bowl in 2018, which is both a positive and a negative:
Goff is a game manager who can help a talented team reach the playoffs. But Stafford is a game changer, the type who can win MVP and put a team on his back during a playoff run. In Detroit’s best season, going 15-2 in 2024, Goff choked and threw three interceptions in an ugly divisional round playoff loss to the Commanders.
The trade grade didn’t adequately reflect the probability that Jared Goff will never be good enough to lead a team to a Super Bowl championship, whereas Matthew Stafford never had the chance to play with a team as good as the Rams.
Other trade grades
Over at NFL.com, the Lions won the trade according to Marc Sessler, giving the Lions an A and the Rams a B+, calling them “reckless”.
PFF’s Brad Spielberger also felt the Lions won the trade:
It’s hard to look at this deal and think that the Detroit Lions have not come out ahead. The Rams’ supporting cast, excellent early in the McVay/Goff marriage, has atrophied some over the past few years, which has led to Goff’s decline. The defense, the league’s best in 2020, lost its coordinator this offseason when Brandon Staley moved across town to be with the Chargers. The situation that Stafford falls into, while better than the one he had in Detroit, might not yield the results that this trade implies it will. The betting markets appear to be betting into Los Angeles as a result of this move, but we would be inclined to take the other side if offered.
It’s amazing to look back on how the trade was discussed, almost as if many analysts were rooting for the Rams to regress because it validated the idea that Detroit had ‘won’ the deal.
Too much NFL analysis today is centered around salary cap spreadsheets and draft capital instead of the actual objective: winning championships. The Rams understood that an elite quarterback could raise their ceiling more than two future first-round picks ever could.
The Sporting News also gave the Lions an A and the Rams a B-, arguing that Stafford was not much better than Goff:
Stafford gives the Rams a higher floor and keeps them as a strong playoff contender, but in the big picture of trying to get back to the Super Bowl, has an overrated ceiling. The Rams, who don’t have a first-round pick again in 2021, gave up two more over the next two years.
Stats have also played a huge part in misleading so many “experts” and fans into believing that one quarterback is as good as another quarterback because of their production. Goff’s stats in the past four years are legitimately insane, throwing 130 touchdowns and only 39 interceptions with a passer rating of 103.4, genuinely some of the best stats in history.
And yet anybody who has watched him play knows that he’s not as talented as Stafford, doesn’t have the deep ball accuracy or talent, doesn’t have the arm angles or improvisational skills as Stafford, and would have never helped receivers like Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua put up Hall of Fame-caliber seasons like Stafford. The comparison shows how stats alone can sometimes obscure the difference between a productive quarterback and a transformational one.
It’s hard to argue against the Lions doing what was right for their team because Stafford asked to be traded and then Holmes was able to turn him into a foundation that would put Detroit on a Super Bowl path for the first time in franchise history.
However, the angle that the Rams had to get an upgrade at quarterback or risk wasting McVay and Aaron Donald’s value to a team at the time was overlooked too many times. Five years later, the Rams are still a Super Bowl contender. That’s value that teams almost never get from two first round picks, including the Lions.
znModeratorWe rounded up several record predictions for the Rams this season and compiled them below, giving you a look at how highly viewed Los Angeles is entering the 2026 campaign. All but one have the Rams winning at least 12 games, with the only exception being a 9-8 prediction from FOX Sports.
Needless to say, a 9-8 record would be disappointing for the Rams, who have legitimate Super Bowl aspirations after coming up just short the last two seasons. After winning at least 10 games in each of the last three years, it would be a surprise to see the Rams fall short of double-digit wins this year.
Ali Bhanpuri, NFL.com: 12-5
Bhanpuri picked the Rams to finish with the best record in the NFC, securing the top seed in the conference and a first-round bye.
If the Rams end the season holding the Lombardi Trophy, they’ll have earned every ounce of that sterling silver. Their schedule is brutal. They play overseas (in Australia!), on Thanksgiving Eve (a Wednesday!) and on Christmas Day (a Friday!). Their first three tilts are all in prime time, including at Denver in Week 3, which is immediately followed by a trip to Philadelphia before another iso game against Buffalo in Week 5. Their post-bye stretch, from Week 12 on, doesn’t let up even once. But if there’s any team equipped to overcome such a challenging slate, it’s Sean McVay’s club. Time will tell whether a little more immediate help would have made the difference in them securing that priceless hardware.
Tom Blair, NFL.com: 12-5
Blair has the Rams making the playoffs as a wild-card team, earning the fifth seed with a 12-5 record.
Nate Atkins, The Athletic: 12-5
This Rams team looks more complete than it did last season, when it finished 12-5 with the league’s toughest schedule. The Rams added McDuffie and Watson to fix the Achilles’ heel of the secondary, and they should rebound from special teams woes that cost them in nearly every defeat. Los Angeles has the look of a team that could be favored in a wide majority of its games.
Eric D. Williams, FOX Sports: 9-8
The Los Angeles Rams pushed all their chips into the middle of the table for the 2026 season, making a blockbuster trade with the Kansas City Chiefs for versatile slot corner Trent McDuffie and signing his teammate, outside cornerback Jaylen Watson, in free agency, significantly upgrading a defense that let them down in the NFC Championship Game at Seattle. However, Matthew Stafford is 38 years old and played all 17 games last season for the first time since 2021. And slated to back Stafford up is surprising first-round pick Ty Simpson, who has never taken an NFL snap and is a play away from leading a team that is the current betting favorite to win the Super Bowl. The Rams also must make sure Puka Nacua’s off-the-field issues are in the rearview mirror.
Moe Moton, Bleacher Report: 13-4
The Los Angeles Rams have won at least 10 games in three consecutive seasons. Despite his age, Matthew Stafford has been mostly available, except in 2022, when he missed eight games.
As long as Stafford avoids injury, the Rams are Super Bowl contenders. They have a stacked roster with no glaring needs.
Mike Clay, ESPN: 13.2-3.8
Clay uses a more analytical approach to record predictions, but he has the Rams winning about 13 games and losing four of them. With a 13-4 record, the Rams are the No. 1 seed in Clay’s projections.
znModeratorPuka Nacua 2025 catching.pic.twitter.com/vGewbMNEEM
— Football Performances (@NFLPerformances) May 20, 2026
znModeratorI get McVay’s regret about how he handled things with Goff. However, had he been transparent with Goff and told him that the Rams were going to explore trading him and then the trade didn’t come to fruition, how would that have impacted their relationship moving forward?
I’ve said all this before, probably several times, but I think that how the trade was handled (–and Snead was part of that too–) was just one outgrowth of a management dysfunction that existed before the trade issue.
McVay became the defacto qb coach in 2019 and didn’t handle it well. He pushed Goff in ways that didn’t work, and was public about it. I think that Goff lost his confidence and started playing like it. One of the first things Ben Johnson did in Detroit was to work collaboratively with Goff and build up his confidence.
I defended the trade for Stafford when it happened because I thought Goff and McVay were a bad “marriage” and the only way out of that was for one of them to go. Once they got Stafford, I immediately thought McVay would work better with him than he did with Goff, primarily because Stafford was a very advanced veteran and essentially at a coach’s level in his understanding of the game. Stafford was an upgrade, but then at the same time, Goff demonstrated with the Lions that he is one of the good ones, he just needed to be in a situation that suited him better.
To me, handling the trade badly was just another chapter in that long book, ie. the book being the Rams from 2019 through to the trade in 2021.
…
znModerator“His personality is kind of like how he plays”@colincowherd & @ryenarussillo on Aaron Rodgers pic.twitter.com/k4OpVhetu1
— The Volume (@TheVolumeSports) May 20, 2026
Aaron Rodgers is probably the most gifted QB I've watched. His 2011 season is the highest level I've ever seen a QB reach. His final season should be a glorious farewell tour. But, yes, it's complicated. https://t.co/vNVjdPyWrk
— Frank Schwab (@YahooSchwab) May 20, 2026
znModeratorWhy the Rams are still Super Bowl favorites despite drafting for the future over the present
Nate Atkins
Ever since Matthew Stafford announced he would return after a Most Valuable Player campaign, a bar was set for the Los Angeles Rams in 2026.
In some ways, it felt like “Super Bowl or bust.”
Then the Rams spent their highest draft pick in a decade on the future heir to Stafford’s throne, Alabama’s Ty Simpson. Many wondered why they didn’t invest more in what was appearing to be an all-in push.
Their stance was that a contending roster was already set.
They are not the only ones feeling that way.
The Rams are the betting favorites to win the Super Bowl on every major sports betting platform. They are +700 on FanDuel, +800 on DraftKings and BetMGM and have a 10 percent chance to win on Kalshi.
The margin of error is worth noticing, too, though: Tied for second-best odds on FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM and Kalshi are the defending-champion Seattle Seahawks, and the San Francisco 49ers have the fifth-best odds on FanDuel. Both NFC West foes won at least 12 games last season.
Whereas many expected Los Angeles to spend the No. 13 pick on a position of apparent need, such as wide receiver or linebacker, the Rams deployed the long view. They saw themselves in the rare position of being able to afford a draft-and-stash selection with future upside.
They saw their list of needs as depth-related. They took Ohio State tight end Max Klare in the second round, versatile Missouri offensive lineman Keagan Trost in the third, Miami wide receiver CJ Daniels in the sixth and Alabama nose tackle Tim Keenan III in the seventh.
The primary reason the Rams felt they could go with a quarterback at No. 13 was they spent another first-round pick, No. 29, on the one position they did see as a gigantic need. They traded that pick and three other selections to the Kansas City Chiefs for All-Pro Trent McDuffie, who will start at one outside cornerback spot. Then they signed McDuffie’s counterpart from the Chiefs, Jaylen Watson.
“I don’t know if it’s as much about the coverage as much as their willingness to put their face on people,” Rams coach Sean McVay said. “I think the game honors toughness.”
Now, the Rams have a defense that might not have a real weakness. The one spot they didn’t address that offered upgrade potential was weakside linebacker, and coverage on tight ends remains a concern. But they saw that spot as the one they rely on the least. Top linebacker Nate Landman will play in what should again be a league-high usage of dime sets (32.4 percent in 2025, with no other team above 24 percent), tapping into a safeties group of Quentin Lake, Kam Curl, Kam Kinchens and Jaylen McCollough.
The Rams didn’t see their defensive roster as far away, despite last season’s second-half regression. In addition to help at outside cornerback, they needed a closer. Now, McDuffie is here to be a solution to both.
Whether that can happen could come down to how the Rams insulate and deploy him. Opponents can avoid one playmaking outside cornerback if the other corner or the safeties are liabilities, which made signing Watson and re-signing Curl high-priority follow-up moves.
The model will require a more consistent pass rush than the Rams had in last year’s postseason, when Jared Verse, Byron Young and Kobie Turner combined for one sack in three games. Part of that consistency could come from stronger coverage forcing quarterbacks to hold the ball. Part could come from better health for Young, who battled a knee injury in the playoffs; or a step from second-year linebacker Josaiah Stewart, whose 17.3 percent pressure rate placed just above Young (15 percent) and just behind Verse (17.5 percent) but came on just 154 pass-rushing snaps, according to Sports Info Solutions.
The goal with McDuffie will be to keep him from being in predictable and avoidable spots. That’s where his ability to perform as an All-Pro on the outside as well as in the nickel spot intrigued the Rams enough to make him the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history ($31 million per season).
Lake is at his best as a primary nickel. But to make use of Lake’s three-year, $38.3 million extension, the Rams also need to get him in more disguised spots, which means rotating to free and strong safety at times. Putting McDuffie at nickel, with Emmanuel Forbes Jr. seeing some outside reps, could allow that possibility.
“Like I told them when they’re like, ‘Where do you want to play?’ I’m like, ‘Put me in a position where we succeed and I’m ready to go,’” McDuffie said. “I’m definitely excited to do some unique things.”
Of course, the Rams’ other glaring weakness in 2025 was special teams, which played a key factor in five of their six losses. They believe they have their kicking game worked out with Ethan Evans and Harrison Mevis, and they signed cover man Grant Stuard and long snapper Joe Cardona. But it will really be on new coordinator Bubba Ventrone to develop the back end of the roster into a cleaner product.
Ultimately, much of the Rams’ contender model this year will come down to health, particularly on offense. They benefited from strong injury luck for the most part last season, particularly with running backs Kyren Williams and Blake Corum, who each played 17 games and combined for 404 carries at the game’s most brutal position. Los Angeles drafted Jarquez Hunter in the fourth round last year to stash for when Williams or Corum gets hurt.
But if Stafford, who is 38 and is managing a degenerative back issue, gets injured, the Rams have to be confident Simpson can step in and deliver in high-stakes games. They were ready to draft Simpson even if they re-signed Jimmy Garoppolo this offseason, a team source told The Athletic, because that’s how much they value a backup quarterback on a team where Stafford will take time off in the summer to manage his back.
The Rams got 14 games out of Davante Adams and 16 from Puka Nacua, as Adams led the league in touchdown catches and Nacua led in receptions. But their four combined games missed showcased limitations at times, too, when none of their backup receivers appeared ready for a high-volume role the offense was designed for. Los Angeles countered for an early Nacua injury by becoming the league’s top team in two- and three-tight end sets, and it is banking on that model again after re-signing Tyler Higbee and drafting Klare in the second round.
Still, when it comes to finding the gear needed to beat other contenders in the playoffs, the Rams will need Stafford to maintain enough of his MVP form at age 38, Adams to repeat enough of his touchdown-leader play at 33 and for them and Nacua to stay mostly healthy. The potential for regression is real for an aging core after leading the league in points scored.
To limit the wear and tear, the Rams could lean more into a run game that saw a Year 2 jump from Corum, and they’ll hope for a similar Year 2 leap from Terrance Ferguson at tight end.
The biggest question remains at wide receiver, where Jordan Whittington, Konata Mumpfield, Daniels or Xavier Smith will need to be more ready than their secondary options presented last season.
But the Rams also didn’t see the draft as their final shot to insulate a Super Bowl-favorite roster. They saw the Simpson pick as a move to free up their 2027 selections, or the ones teams keep asking for ahead of a potentially loaded quarterback draft, a team source told The Athletic. They have between now and October’s trade deadline to measure the third wide receiver battle, Ferguson’s growth and the second linebacker spot. The key will be making a sharp read on the state of the team just one-third into the season.
The Rams are walking a tightrope between the present and the future. They’re eyeing another Super Bowl at SoFi Stadium, knowing they have the potential to get there — and the expectation to do so, as well.
znModerator…backup quarterback Stetson Bennett couldn’t be in a better position. Despite the selection of Ty Simpson by the Los Angeles Rams, Bennett’s future with the franchise remains as bright as ever. While one would think the selection of Simpson has eliminated any chance for Bennett to start during the regular season, the reality is that Bennett was never going to get that opportunity anyway.
Bennett is likely a career backup. The thing is, he still possesses some of that magic that won Georgia two National Championships, as he made evident in the last two preseasons. If this were last season, Bennett would have needed Matthew Stafford and Jimmy Garoppolo to suffer injuries in order to come into a game. However, Simpson isn’t the guaranteed No. 2 quarterback behind Stafford.
The McVay offense is a complex system to learn. Simpson is a smart player but he’s also human. Bennett has been in the system and has had real game experience in McVay’s offense – albeit in the preseason. There’s no reason to say that Simpson is the automatic backup. McVay said after the draft that Simpson will have to compete with Bennett to earn the No. 2 spot.
znModeratorRams TE play. Loved Ernie Conwell!!! pic.twitter.com/RQ22JKNasM
— RAMZILLA (@elitster) May 20, 2026
znModeratorznModeratorIt requires believing that the NFL is open to suggestions from teams, and doesn’t consider the implications of the requests.
That’s bullshit. It’s bullshit.
!!!
😮
Board war!
znModeratorfrom Regrading 2023 NFL Draft
Pete Prisco
https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/regrading-2023-nfl-draft/
…
It always takes three years to truly grade a draft, so I always go back and do a regrade of the teams and myself based on my initial draft grades.
Sometimes the teams look bad. Sometimes I do. Sometimes we both do in terms of the same evaluations and, yes, there are times when we both even get it right.
As it relates to the 2023 drafts for the Rams and Seahawks, they both look great right now. In fact, after giving them solid grades immediately after the draft, the new grade for both is A+.
…
Los Angeles Rams
2023 grade: BThe skinny: They had 14 picks in the draft and five of them are starters with the best of them being fifth-round receiver Puka Nacua. He has proven to be a star and a steal. They also got starters in guard Steve Avila (second), defensive linemen Byron Young and Kobie Turner in the third and right tackle Warren McClendon in the fifth. Backup tight end Davis Allen also came in the fifth. Backup quarterback Stetson Bennett came in the fourth.
How I did: I thought Avila was their best pick and Bennett was their worst. I went on to say how much I liked their draft, mentioning Young as a player I liked. I thought it was the type of draft to help overhaul the roster, which it did. I didn’t mention Nacua, which means I missed on him like the rest of the league.
New grade: A+
znModeratorSean McVay wished he handled the Jared Goff trade differently pic.twitter.com/3JgisoCpc0
— Bussin' With The Boys (@BussinWTB) May 19, 2026
znModeratorNFL Stats@NFL_Stats
Players on the #Rams with the highest 2026 cap hits:QB Matthew Stafford – $48.3M
WR Davante Adams – $28.0M
LT Alaric Jackson – $25.4M
OG Kevin Dotson – $17.4M
S Quentin Lake – $11.7M
RB Kyren Williams – $11.6M
DL Poona Ford – $11.4M
CB Trent McDuffie – $10.8M
C Coleman Shelton – $9.5MznModerator83 percent against the Packers? 79 percent against the Bills? 63 percent against the Eagles?
81 percent against the Chargers? 61 percent against the Broncos? 76 percent against Shanahan?The guy iz nutz.
w
vYeah those numbers are pretty low.
Yet, beware–any given Sunday, those teams could squeak out wins.
znModeratorCameron DaSilva@camdasilva
ESPN’s Mike Clay gives the Rams a win probability of at least 57% for every game this season, projecting them for an NFL-high 13.2 winsAll despite a grueling schedule
…
…the Rams have the highest projected win total in the NFL, according to ESPN. Analyst Mike Clay projects the Rams to win 13.2 games in his 2026 forecast, while also assigning win probabilities to each contest on the upcoming schedule.
Despite their remarkably tough schedule, the Rams still have a win probability of better than 50% in each of their 17 games. Their lowest win probability is in Week 16 on the road against the Seahawks, where they still have a 57% chance to win, according to Clay.
Below is the Rams’ win probability for each game, as well as the projected score in parentheses.
Week 1 vs. 49ers: 76% (29.2-21.7)
Week 2 vs. Giants: 90% (31.0-17.7)
Week 3 at Broncos: 61% (24.5-21.3)
Week 4 at Eagles: 62% (25.2-21.8)
Week 5 vs. Bills: 79% (32.5-23.8)
Week 6 vs. Cardinals: 96% (33.2-14.3)
Week 7 at Raiders: 90% (29.6-16.5)
Week 8 vs. Chargers: 81% (29.5-20.3)
Week 9 at Commanders: 84% (31.1-20.5)
Week 10 at Cardinals: 93% (31.1-16.4)
Week 11: Bye
Week 12 vs. Packers: 83% (29.5-19.6)
Week 13 vs. Chiefs: 80% (28.8-19.8)
Week 14 at 49ers: 69% (28.2-22.8)
Week 15 vs. Cowboys: 78% (31.0-22.7)
Week 16 at Seahawks: 57% (24.5-22.5)
Week 17 at Buccaneers: 74% (27.4-20.4)
Week 18 vs. Seahawks: 71% (26.5-20.4) -
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