When looking at the landscape of the NFL in 2021, it’s hard to see a clear picture. Free agency is still a month away, the draft has yet to happen and the looming drop in the salary cap will likely force teams to make some difficult financial decisions.
But as they’re currently constructed, the Rams certainly look like one of the better teams in the league on paper. With Matthew Stafford set to take over at quarterback, Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey leading the defense and Cam Akers poised to run away with the starting role in the backfield, the Rams are built to win now.
Mark Schofield of Touchdown Wire sees the Rams as a legitimate threat, putting them in the top 10 of his early 2021 power rankings. The Rams checked in at No. 6, the highest-ranked NFC West team and the third-highest in the entire conference.
Here’s part of what Schofield wrote about Los Angeles.
The Rams are going to test the theory of whether sacrificing future draft picks for proven players is a better approach to roster building in today’s NFL. But if you are missing one piece, there might not be a price too high to pay to acquire that player. We’ll see if they’re right in the season ahead, but if they are, the Rams are in great shape for 2021.
The NFC West is still stacked and the Rams will have to face both the Bucs and Packers next season, so it won’t be an easy schedule for Los Angeles in 2021. But the Rams have yet to finish worse than 9-7 under Sean McVay and there’s little reason to believe that will change next season – especially with Stafford coming aboard.
They may have sacrificed future assets by agreeing to land Stafford, but Les Snead and McVay are going all-in to win a Super Bowl now.
