Now that the dust has settled on the Los Angeles Rams’ season, it’s time to look ahead to next year. Sports Illustrated has already done so, ranking three Rams players in its projected top 100 players for the 2026 campaign.
SI’s Gilberto Manzano, in his three-part rankings series, kicked things off by including All-Pro Puka Nacua at No. 4:
“If Nacua can avoid the streamers, he’ll continue to ascend as one of the most versatile playmakers in the league. He’s not afraid to block, often puts his body on the line to catch everything in sight, and is even capable of making plays from the backfield. Nacua set career highs in receptions (129), receiving yards (1,715) and touchdowns (10).”
Nacua was the highest L.A. player by far in Manzano’s rankings, and was behind only Josh Allen, Myles Garrett and Ja’Marr Chase. The Rams undoubtedly have themselves quite the special wideout, and he should only get more dangerous as time goes on. Every defensive coordinator just woke up in a panic as I wrote that sentence.
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At this point, who cares if he doesn’t win Offensive Player of the Year? His production spoke for itself and then some.
Matthew Stafford was the only other Ram in the top 15. Manzano had high praise for the probable MVP, who was ranked behind fellow signal callers Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow and Allen:
“I might be in the minority when saying that Stafford’s age isn’t a problem. It’s become somewhat of an offseason tradition to figure out when the Rams are going to move on from the 37-year-old quarterback, but it might be foolish to do it after a career year that could end with his first MVP award. Perhaps the Rams draft a young quarterback and have him wait behind Stafford for a few more years. Until I see some regression, Stafford is a top-five quarterback in my book. He completed 65% of his passes for a league-high 4,707 yards and 46 touchdowns, and had only eight interceptions.”
No one should be worried about Stafford after watching his performance in the NFC Championship. He did more than enough, torching the Seahawks’ elite defense in the team’s three matchups, particularly in Seattle. Stafford may not have placed first in these rankings, but he continues proving he’s a top-tier friend to his former teammates.
Second-year stud Jared Verse was the final Rams player to make it, at a very nice No. 69.
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While the roster isn’t loaded with star power as in years past, the Rams should again field one of the NFL’s best rosters next season. The trio of Puka, Stafford and Verse will do more than enough to will this team back to the playoffs and in the Super Bowl chase in 2026. That is something to look forward to indeed.
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