On paper, the Los Angeles Rams look like one of the best teams in the NFL. Sure, they lost a few pieces in the offseason, but they also returned the majority of their starters – players that helped them get to the Super Bowl seven months ago.
There are very few teams right now with the overall talent and coaching staff that the Rams have. Yet, USA TODAY’s Nate Davis doesn’t see Los Angeles as one of the top five teams in football heading into the regular season.
In fact, Davis put the Rams 10th in his initial power rankings, behind teams like the Steelers (9), Falcons (8) and Vikings (5).
10. Rams (11): Still waiting to learn if we’ll see the old Todd Gurley in Week 1 or an old Todd Gurley. Answer likely holds key to NFC champs’ prospects.
So if Gurley goes out on Sunday, carries the ball 20 times and has 150 all-purpose yards, the Rams will move up in the power rankings? Only Davis can answer that question, but it seems a big part of his reasoning for putting the Rams 10th has to do with Gurley’s health.
It’s not necessarily wrong to be worried about Gurley’s knee. There’s obviously something going on with it, considering he hasn’t practiced in consecutive days yet this offseason. It’s still not known how much the coaches will limit his workload, but he probably won’t get close to 300 carries in 2019.
That doesn’t mean the Rams will be a fringe playoff team, though. They have too much other talent to just fall apart because of one player being limited slightly.
