Los Angeles Rams Pro Football Hall of Fame watch

The Pro Football Hall of Fame will induct the class of 2023 on Aug. 5. Here are players from the 2023 Rams who could join the immortals in Canton someday.

Guaranteed Hall of Famer

Aaron Donald, defensive lineman: Not only is Donald a first-ballot Hall of Famer if he retired today, but he would also go down as one of the most dominant and greatest defensive players in league history. He is a game-changer and game-wrecker. 

Donald has made the Pro Bowl every year of his nine-year career, earned three NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards and made first-team All-Pro seven times. He also has a 20.5-sack season on his résumé and was the best player on a Super Bowl-winning team. In that game, he made the game-clinching play.

Donald is already second all-time on the Pro Football Reference Hall of Fame tracker for defensive tackles, behind only Bob Lilly, the former Cowboys great. 

Donald is in. No debate. This is the easiest vote for any active player. 

Fringe Hall of Famers

Matthew Stafford, quarterback: There is a compelling case to be made for Stafford. He is already 11th on the NFL's all-time passing yardage list (52,082) and 12th on the touchdown passes list (333).

In terms of raw numbers, he is already ahead of impressive names that are already in the Hall of Fame, including Warren Moon, Jim Kelly, Kurt Warner, Terry Bradshaw, Dan Fouts and Steve Young. There is the generation factor there, with Stafford playing the bulk of his career in a far more passer-friendly league than some of those players, but the numbers are impressive. He also has the all-important Super Bowl ring. 

What might hold him back, though, is that he spent the bulk of his career on a bad Detroit Lions team and did not compile many individual awards. He has made one Pro Bowl. He has never received an MVP vote or a vote for Offensive Player of the Year. At no point could you make the argument that he was one of the two or three best quarterbacks in the NFL in a given season. 

He has had a long, successful and productive career with a championship. It just has not been a particularly dominant career. 

Cooper Kupp, wide receiver: There are two paths to the Hall of Fame. The first and most common is a long and productive career in which a player compiles big stats and leaves a lasting legacy. 

The second is the Gale Sayers, Terrell Davis and Kurt Warner path -- a path blazed by players who have had shorter careers defined by dominance over a small handful of years. 

That might be the path Kupp follows. 

Kupp will turn 30 on June 15, so it is possible that his peak years are behind him. Although it took him a couple of years to emerge as an impact player, he did have a three-year stretch from 2019-21 in which he was the most dangerous wide receiver in football. That stretch included a 145-catch season (second most all-time) and an Offensive Player of the Year award in 2021. 

That will help him, but the lack of overall numbers, as well as the lack of individual accomplishments outside of the 2021 season, might hold him back.