It’s only March and there are still about six months until a meaningful football game is played, but the offseason is when roster-building occurs. The Los Angeles Rams don’t have much building to do after returning the majority of their Super Bowl roster from last season, but that doesn’t mean they can just sit on their hands.
One week into the new league year, the Rams still look like one of the NFL’s best teams. The core of the roster is back, from Jared Goff to Todd Gurley to Aaron Donald, with their biggest losses being Rodger Saffold, Lamarcus Joyner and eventually, Ndamukong Suh.
In USA TODAY’s latest power rankings, the Rams check in at No. 5 following their recent free agency moves. That’s down one spot from the last edition of the rankings as the Chargers rose all the way from No. 5 to 2.
Mystery surrounding Todd Gurley’s knee only seems to be deepening. NFC champs must also avoid Super Bowl hangover while proving New England didn’t decode Sean McVay’s offense for rest of league.
Neither the Chargers nor Rams made any blockbuster moves, yet they’re heading in opposite directions, according to Nate Davis of USA TODAY. Again, it’s still very early in the year and the draft has yet to happen, but the Rams are in good shape at the moment.
They have the talent to replace Saffold, Joyner and Suh, even without the draft. Joseph Noteboom can fill in for Saffold, Eric Weddle will replace Joyner and Michael Brockers might slide over to take over the nose tackle position.
Unless something goes terribly wrong, the Rams will be one of the best teams in the league when the season begins.
