Where Does Rams' Roster Rank in 2025?

Like rush-hour traffic on the 405, signs are starting to increase that the Rams could be ready to party like it’s 2021. The latest came Thursday when Pro Football Focus ranked Les Snead’s Los Angeles roster as No. 6 in the NFL.

That’s significant because entering last season the scouting site put the Rams in the middle of the road, the 15th-best roster in the league. The team’s nine-spot, year-over-year improvement is tied the fifth-largest jump in the league with division-rival Arizona (28th to 19th). Only Denver (31st to ninth), Washington (27th to 10th), Minnesota (24th to eighth) and the L.A. Chargers (25th to 12th) made greater improvements.

The biggest difference in the Rams’ roster is free-agent Davante Adams replacing Cooper Kupp, released in a salary-cap move. PFF sees the Adams-Puka Nacua combination paying more dividends than Kupp and Nacua the past two seasons. The team’s top 2024 strength got even better.

“Led by Puka Nacua and his NFL-best 92.6 PFF receiving grade, the Rams’ wide receiver unit topped the league with an 85.9 PFF receiving grade,” wrote authors Max Chadwick and Dalton Wasserman.

The improvement could be more of a sign that PFF underestimated the Rams’ roster in 2024. Los Angeles earned a lot of respect when Sean McVay guided his club back from a 1-4 start all the way to the NFC West title and near-upset of the eventual Super Bowl champion Eagles.

That rebound also helped attract nose tackle Poona Ford and linebacker Nate Landman in free agency. And while PFF pointed to guard Steve Avila as the Rams’ X factor this season, that title could easily go to center Coleman Shelton, who resigned with Los Angeles after a year in Chicago. His return will certainly improve communication issues on the offensive line that led to breakdowns in protection.

The beneficiary of that protection, quarterback Matthew Stafford, leads a long list of players the Rams retained. Other key retentions were his blindside protector, tackle Alaric Jackson, linebacker Troy Reeder and cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon. But the biggest improvement to an already formidable defense might’ve been third-round edge-rusher Josaiah Stewart.

“Jared Verse instantly became one of the NFL’s best edge defenders as a rookie in 2024,” Chadwick and Wasserman wrote, “but the Rams did not have another defensive lineman record at least a 70.0 PFF pass-rush grade … Stewart should add some punch after recording an elite 92.3 PFF pass-rush grade at Michigan last season. Despite his lack of size, he also led the Power Four with an incredible 27.7% pass-rush win rate. He could carve out an early role as a situational pass rusher.”

Over the Cap noted on Wednesday that the Rams are returning 77.0 percent of their roster, the eighth-best rate in the league. That’s critical continuity for a roster considered top-six in the league.

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