The Los Angeles Rams finished the 2023 season with a 10-7 record and made the playoffs for the third time in 4 years. Unfortunately they lost in the wild card round of the playoffs to the Detroit Lions with a score of 24 to 23. What we did not know at the time of that game ending – was that it would be future hall of famer Aaron Donald’s final career game. And the Rams had their work cut out for them this offseason as they weren’t just replacing a long time veteran that had fallen off over the past few years. And they weren’t just replacing a guy who made a pro bowl or two in his prime. No. They had to replace one of the best defensive players to ever play the game. And there’s no easy way to do that. But aside from having to replace Aaron Donald entering the 2024 season – I thought the Rams had a pretty solid offseason all things considered. But entering the 2024 season the Los Angeles Rams have one glaring problem. Now outside of that problem – this roster is one of my favorites in all of football and I think they are a pretty underrated team heading into the year. Are they going to be Super Bowl champions this year? I would say probably not, but I think this team can easily win a playoff game as we sit here in August. But if they’re not going to win the super bowl – how far can they go? Well, we’re going to break everything down in today’s video. Now let’s begin
And we are starting today’s video by breaking down he Rams biggest losses this offseason and they’re biggest acquisitions this offseason – prior to the NFL Draft of course as those guys will be primarily discussed during the rookie impact part of the video. And believe it or not they didn’t lose too much in free agency as the biggest contract a former Ram signed with another team on an average annual value basis was – believe it or not – Carson Wentz who signed with the Chiefs. Aside from Carson, they lost safety Jordan Fuller who signed with the Panthers, and Center Coleman Shelton who signed with the Bears. So all in all – it wasn’t a bad offseason for them in losing guys in free agency. But losing players to retirement is another thing. However many times you’ve heard about the Rams losing Aaron Donald and the impact it will have on them entering 2024 – trust me – it’s not enough. There will never be another Aaron Donald and he was absolutely a guy who you can either tell your kids you saw him play – or you have actual memories of watching him play. He was 1/1. But one thing Aaron said over the past few months about his retirement was – he wanted to leave the Rams in a good situation when he retired – from a defensive line standpoint. And he did – as the Rams had a great 2023 draft class even outside of Puka Nana. Two of my favorite picks they had were Byron Young and Kobie Turner who each had great rookie years – and especially Kobie. Kobie had 48 pressures as a rookie which was 17th amongst interior defensive lineman last year. He showed a lot of flashes as a rookie and actually finished a single presser behind the number 9 overall pick Jalen Carter – who finished the year with 49 pressures. Teammate Byron Young had 50 in his rookie year which was 3rd amongst all rookies – only behind Will Anderson of the Texans, and Tuli Tuipulotu of the Chargers. I know the thought process may be something along the lines of – are these guys products of Aaron Donald – or are they actually going to be good moving forward – basically without the protector? And to me – I thought each player was really good during their rookie year and especially Kobie who showed violent hands at times on tape. Not only that – but the Rams drafted one of my favorite prospects in the draft to play opposite of Byron in Florida State’s Jared Verse. Gm Les Snead truly did as good of a job as he could have in replacing the future hall of famer. He drafted really well in 2023 – and spent their first two picks on the trenches defensively in 2024. And that’s what has to be remembered for the Rams entering this year. No one player is going to be able to replace Aaron. But collectively – they can attempt to. Now the one part of the Rams defense that concerns me entering the year is their secondary. The 2023 Rams defense was ok outside of the defensive line – and ok may be a stretch. The 2023 Rams finished 11th in opposing rushing attempts against – which obviously the Rams – nor any team can control what the opposing offense is going to play – I mean obviously right? But based off of game flow – you can probably infer that a team like the Panthers – who finished 2023 probably had the ball ran on them a lot – especially when you factor in they had 8 double digit loses.
And opposing teams did as Carolina 28th in rushing attempts against. And the reason we bring this up is because the Rams finished 11th in rushing attempts against despite finishing 17th in yards per carry allowed. This was because teams would have preferred to attack the Rams through the air rather than on the ground. And the Rams finished 25th in passing attempts against – and it was due in large part to – the secondary. Their corners entering this year to me – are concerning. Tredavious White will turn 30 in January and has played 10 games over the last two years. Total – not in each season. And he played in just 11 games in 2021 – so he’s played in 21 total games over the last 3 years. If you think Tre’Davious is going to turn the clock back going on 30 – after tearing his ACL back in 2021, and tearing this Achilles last year – I mean you do you – but this situation specifically is going to have to be a see – it – to – believe – it scenario for me. And this of course goes without being said that I wish Tredavious the best moving forward. But aside from Tre, their other top corners are Darious Williams – who of course played with the Rams earlier in his career and is coming off of a good year with the Jags – but it is worth noting – he is 31 years old. To be completely honest – I have a lot more faith entering the 2024 season in Darious – than I do any other Rams corner. But at 5’9 187 – and with receivers in the division like Dk Metcalf, Marvin Harrison Jr, and Deebo Samuel – all of which have significant weight on him – and Dk and Marvin are of course north of 6’3 – I have concerns with Darious when it comes time to play the division. Cobie Durant is also 5’11 180 and for a team that struggled to defend the pass last year – well I worry about that entering this year too. I still think the Rams are going to be a very good team and I think they are going to be an incredibly tough team to beat every single sunday – but I think there are clear limitations with this team entering 2024. Positively what I will say is – with how good their pass rush will be – their corners are going to naturally cover opposing receivers for a less amount of time than the league average. And even a tenth of a second in the NFL makes a big difference. One signing I liked a lot was the addition of safety Kamren Curl. Curl has made a nice career for himself after being a 7th round pick back in 2020 out of Arkansas and I would expect the same from him this year. He is also only 25 years old so there is a possibility he starts for this team for the next 3 or 4 years. And we’ve said this before – but anytime you can bring in a solid starting player for just $4.5 million dollars per year at the safety position – you do it. And out of any of the free agent signings the Rams made – i liked this one a lot. But for as much as I liked the Kam Curl signing – I am pretty uncomfortable with what their plan is at corner entering 2024. Bringing in a corner who’s played just 21 games over the past 3 years and then signing a 31 year old corner in today’s era is incredibly incredibly risky. And the reality is corners hips and their ability to shift on a dime are the first to go. And I worry about this team and how they’re going to hold up over the course of a 17 game season. The major key for the 2024 Rams to have any success – meaning more than a 9-8 season and winning a playoff game or even two – is – multiple guys on the defensive line are going to have to step up. And they’re going to have to have multiple guys have career years.
It is also worth noting the Rams were 2-6 against playoff teams last year and with losses to teams like San Francisco, Dallas, and Baltimore. Now it is worth noting that the Green Bay game was quarterback by Brett Rypien – but one of their wins over playoff teams came over the 49ers in week 18 which was a game between Carson Wentz and Sam Darnold. The 2023 Rams played much better in the second half of the 2023 regular season and I completely understand you can’t control who you play – but how much stock would you put in wins over the Cardinals, the Commanders, the Saints, and the Giants? For what it’s worth I am a believer in the Rams and Sean McVay and what they have going – but I do think this part in particular is noteworthy. If the 2024 Rams are going to go to the playoffs – which I think everyone would agree on that they can – then they can’ afford to start the year with a 3-6 record. And for that matter – they can’t afford to start 1-4 and their first 5 games are going to be tough as 3 of their first 4 are on the road with trips to Detroit, Arizona, and Chicago. The only home games are against San Francisco and Green Bay – and this team is going to be heavily battle tested right out of the gate.
