Los Angeles Rams 2026 Profile

Coaching Staff

Head Coach: Sean McVay
Offensive Coordinator: Nate Scheelhaase
Defensive Coordinator: Chris Shula
Special Teams Coordinator: Bubba Ventrone

2025 Summary (W-L Record: 12-5)

The Rams fell just short of reaching the Super Bowl last season, losing the NFC Championship Game 31-27. The had their chances too, including 3 plays inside the Seahawks’ 10-yard line with just 5 minutes remaining and the opportunity to take the lead. They couldn’t get into the end zone, though.

Along the way, the Rams leaned on the right arm of 37-year old Matthew Stafford, who had the best year of his 17-year career. Stafford threw for 4,707 yards and 46 touchdowns on the way to his first MVP award.

The Rams also had two studs at wide receiver (as Sean McVay would call them) in Puka Nacua and Davante Adams. Adams led the NFL with 14 TD receptions, and Nacua led the league with 129 receptions and 107.2 receiving yards per game.

But this was a well-balanced offense that didn’t just operate through it’s passing game. They ranked 7th in the league in rushing and 2nd in percentage of runs gaining 4 yards or more. It’s no surprise that they had the top-ranked offense in the NFL.

The defense was formidable as well, finishing 10th in points allowed, 4th in pressure percentage, and 5th in takeaways. Defensive coordinator Chris Shula also deployed some great scheme and disguise to get after the quarterback and create confusion:

Ultimately, the Rams just weren’t quite good enough on defense in a few key areas, and that was probably the biggest reason that the Seahawks were hoisting the Lombardi at the end of the season instead of them.

So GM Les Snead spent this offseason making some gigantic moves to try and ensure that the same thing won’t happen again in 2026.

Key Additions

QB Ty Simpson (1st Rd, 13th Overall)
TE Max Klare (2nd Rd, 61st Overall)
RT Keagen Trost (3rd Rd, 93rd Overall)

EDGE Myles Garrett
CB Trent McDuffie
CB Jaylen Watson

Key Losses

WR Tutu Atwell
RT Rob Havenstein

EDGE Jared Verse
EDGE Nick Hampton
CB Cobie Durant
CB Darious Williams
CB Ahkello Witherspoon

Biggest Questions Entering 2026

What holes remain for the Rams?
The Rams’ biggest weaknesses last season were their run defense, cornerback room, and special teams.

The defense ranked 21st in completions of 20+ yards and 22nd in air yards per completion. Their run D ranked 19th in rushing yards per attempt and 17th in % of runs gaining 4 yards. Their special teams ranked 26th in the NFL in DVOA according to FTN Fantasy.

On top of that, their weaknesses each played a significant role in them failing to reach the Super Bowl.

Their secondary got torched in the NFC Championship Game as Sam Darnold picked them apart for 346 yards and 3 touchdowns.

That game was played in Seattle, a difficult environment to win, because of the Rams’ Thursday night collapse against the Seahawks a month earlier.

In that game, their run defense allowed 171 yards on the ground and their special teams completely failed them.

The Rams had a 30-14 lead with 8 and a half minutes remaining and inexplicably punted the ball in the middle of the field to one of the most dangerous returners in the game in Rashid Shaheed. The results were predictable, a 58-yard punt return TD that spearheaded the comeback.

L.A. also missed a go-ahead field goal late in that game.

The Rams addressed each of these areas this offseason. First, they added cornerbacks Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson, addressing the biggest positional area of need:

Then they made the move of the offseason, trading for Myles Garrett:

Garrett addresses multiple areas. Not only is he the best pass rusher in the game (which will invariably help out that secondary), he is also very good against the run:

That’s an area where he’s an upgrade over Jared Verse, who was sent to Cleveland in exchange for Garrett.

The Rams also hired Bubba Ventrone to be their new Special Teams Coordinator. Ventrone spent several years as both a coach and a player learning from the GOAT, Bill Belichick. And he has a good track record as the Colts Special Teams Coordinator from 2018-22. Although his special teams units in Cleveland recently weren’t exactly up to snuff.

The bottom line is that the Rams weren’t messing around this offseason. They addressed their their three biggest weaknesses with a level of urgency you don’t see from most franchises. We won’t know the extent to which they filled their holes until the season progresses, though.

Is Aaron Donald actually returning, and if so, how effective will he be?
It seems like the Rams trading for Myles Garrett was the exact thing that made Aaron Donald decide he might want to come out of retirement and join what appears to be a “super team.”

He’s worked out for the Rams multiple times, and it doesn’t seem like he’d be doing that only to ultimately say, “no thanks, I’m gonna stay retired.”

So if he does return, the question becomes how effective will he be?

I’ve seen all the videos you’ve seen showing Donald appearing to still be in great physical shape. But there’s a difference between great physical shape and great football shape. And the NFL is the epitome of “if you don’t use it, you lose it.” It’s very tough to come back and be effective after being out of the game for a while for any reason.

So can he still lean on defenders and drive them back into the quarterback? Can he still hold off blockers in the run game? I have no doubts about his quickness and athleticism, but will he have the same level of explosiveness and power? And can he last a full season?

To me, if he does come back, the wise move would be to ease him in and keep him fresh until the second half of the season. Maybe he continues his workouts, gets back into football shape, and joins the team as a fresh body for the stretch run?

Whatever happens, I’m so curious to see how it goes. Because I also wouldn’t put it past Donald to come back and be close to as good as he was a few years ago:

What new wrinkles will Sean McVay have for the rest of the NFL?
Last season, Sean McVay introduced everyone to the use of “13” personnel (1 RB, 3 TEs) as a foundation of an offense. The approach put considerable pressure on defenses, as you can see in this breakdown: