The Rams' Quarterback Factory

Pro Football Focus' John Kosko ranked all 32 projected starting quarterbacks. Let's see what Kosko said about McVay passers.

The number attached to their name is their rank.

7. Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams

"Stafford isn’t coming off his best season — his 74.7 overall grade in 2024 reflects that — but what keeps him in this upper tier is his complete command of the Rams offense," wrote Kosko. "Despite playing behind a shaky offensive line and losing multiple top weapons to injury, he was still a drive away from knocking off the eventual Super Bowl champions in the divisional round. When Stafford is locked in, he is as good as anyone in football."

9. Jared Goff, Detroit Lions

"Goff has piloted one of the NFL’s most productive offenses over the past two seasons, earning an 84.8 passing grade over that span, the seventh-best in the league. We’ll soon find out how much of that success was tied to Ben Johnson, now the Bears' head coach, but the results speak for themselves: Goff has been a top-10 quarterback over the last two years."

Goff was a disaster after his rookie season, where he lost every start with Jeff Fisher. Less than 12 months later, McVay and Goff win the NFC West. The following year, an NFC Championship.

Goff has now received two nine figure deals from two different football teams.

13. Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

"Mayfield has pulled off a remarkable career turnaround. After bouncing back in 2023, he delivered the best season of his career in 2024, earning an 85.9 overall grade. He’ll now be working with his third offensive coordinator in three years in Tampa Bay — and his fifth since 2022 — but the struggles of 2021-2022 feel firmly in the rearview mirror. His 2024 campaign also featured one of the wildest plays of the season, completing a pass with one of the league’s top pass rushers draped all over him."

Mayfield credits McVay and the Rams for his career turnaround, citing them as the first team to truly believe in him. His Thursday Night drive to win the game over the Raiders in 2022 remains a classic.

21. J.J. McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings

"I’m leaning on my personal evaluation here, as I had McCarthy as the top quarterback in the 2024 NFL Draft. We didn’t get to see him as a rookie, but his 2023 season at Michigan — where he earned a 92.2 PFF grade and a 93.4 passing grade — highlighted everything you want in a young passer. If he’s fully healthy in 2025, and considering what Sam Darnold managed in this offense, McCarthy is set up to succeed."

McCarthy is under former Rams offensive coordinator Kevin O'Connell's tutelage. O'Connell uses many McVay concepts

23. Michael Penix Jr., Atlanta Falcons

"Penix’s NFL sample size is small but promising. Across 114 dropbacks, he earned an 87.9 overall grade — a number inflated by a dominant Week 18 performance that included seven big-time throws and a 95.6 game grade. He’s clearly capable of that level of play, but the week prior told a different story, as he struggled with accuracy and finished with a 54.3 passing grade. Accuracy and performance under pressure were question marks coming out of college. If he can improve in those areas, his ranking will rise in a hurry."

Penix's offensive coordinator is former Rams assistant Zac Robinson.

26. Sam Darnold, Seattle Seahawks

"The big question for Darnold and the Seahawks is which version of the quarterback shows up in 2025. Will it be the one we saw from 2018 to 2023, when his highest-graded season was just a 66.0 as he struggled with decision-making and offensive consistency? Or will it be the quarterback who earned an 85.8 grade over the first 17 weeks of the 2024 season and helped lead the Vikings to 14 wins? His late-season regression and playoff struggles were concerning, and he’ll be working with a less talented supporting cast in Seattle."

Darnold's career rebounded with O'Connell's system. A system used to open up Justin Jefferson like Cooper Kupp.