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Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
NFL offseason power rankings: No. 12 Los Angeles Rams completely turned things around last season
Other NFL team previews: 32. Titans | 31. Saints | 30. Browns | 29. Panthers | 28. Jets | 27. Giants | 26. Raiders | 25. Patriots | 24. Colts | 23. Dolphins | 22. Jaguars | 21. Falcons | 20. Steelers | 19. Cardinals | 18. Cowboys | 17. Seahawks | 16. Texans | 15. Bears | 14. Bengals | 13. 49ers The Los Angeles Rams trailed the Philadelphia Eagles by six points, with the ball at the 13-yard line in the final two minutes of a divisional-round playoff game last postseason. The Eagles beat the brakes off their other three playoff opponents on the way to a Super Bowl championship. In that moment, the Rams had a good shot to win and stop Philadelphia's title run. Advertisement The Rams' comeback fell short, but imagining them in that position was next to impossible a few months earlier. L.A. went into its bye with a 1-4 record. It reportedly entertained the idea of trading Cooper Kupp before the deadline, and while trading Matthew Stafford never seemed realistic, the fact that it was rumored to be a possibility spoke to where the Rams found themselves. The idea of being one key play from advancing to and hosting the NFC championship game was laughable in mid-October. The NFL can change fast, often for the worse and sometimes for the better. Over the past three months of the season, the Rams went from probable trade deadline seller to a contender, and set themselves up to feel good about 2025 as well. [Get more Rams news: Rams team feed] The Rams' young defense continued to improve after a rough start. The offense grew after Puka Nacua and Kupp rebounded from early-season injuries. Close wins started to pile up, and the Rams gained confidence. The 49ers' startling season-long collapse didn't hurt either. Los Angeles won the division, beat a 14-3 Minnesota Vikings team in the wild-card round even though it had to play at a neutral site instead of at home due to fires in Southern California, and gave a fantastic Eagles team its only challenge of the postseason. Advertisement It was all a reminder that Sean McVay is one of the best head coaches in the NFL. Taking a team that started 1-4 to the second round of the playoffs isn't an easy task. "You guys hear me say the word gratitude, but just appreciation," McVay said after the season, via "The journey was hard, but it was worth it. There was a lot of fulfillment. "To come up short … it's a cool reflection of the team to be in that position, but it's also really hard because it just seemed like a lot of things were going to maybe line up for us to be able to host an NFC championship." Advertisement Maybe this season the Rams go further. They suddenly have a fun, young defense, which made the transition after Aaron Donald's retirement a little easier. Stafford is at an age in which his play can deteriorate suddenly, but he was good again last season and has Nacua and new addition Davante Adams (who replaces the released Kupp) to work with. There is enough talent on both sides of the ball, and a top-five coach in McVay. If last season showed anything, it's that the Rams will never be down for long if McVay is still around. Offseason grade Cooper Kupp is a franchise icon and in time, his career will be celebrated in Los Angeles. But Davante Adams is a better player now. Even though Adams is 32, his production is still very good. Cutting Kupp and signing Adams helps L.A.'s offense, probably by a significant amount. Defensive tackle Poona Ford adds size to a run defense that had some rough days last season. A major priority of the offseason was re-signing left tackle Alaric Jackson, and the team got that done with a three-year, $57 million deal. However, Jackson experiencing blood clots in his lower leg is a big concern. That's why the team signed veteran D.J. Humphries. The Rams also reunited with center Coleman Shelton in free agency. They didn't have a first-round pick, which isn't unusual. This time the Rams made a smart move to trade their first-round pick and a third-rounder to the Falcons for second- and seventh-round picks this year and a 2026 first-round pick. That's a good investment. The Rams' draft class itself ended up OK anyway. Tight end Terrance Ferguson (second round) could have an impact right away, defensive end Josaiah Stewart (third round) is another promising young piece on defense, fourth-round pick Jarquez Hunter is a name to watch at running back and linebacker Chris Paul Jr. provided good value as a fifth-round selection. Advertisement Grade: B- Quarterback report Matthew Stafford turned 37 years old in February. While it's not worth running down the history of 37-year-old quarterbacks, it's an age when many start to fall off. Just because Tom Brady played well until age 45 doesn't mean anyone else will. But Stafford hasn't recently shown any major signs of decline. Stafford had a typical season for him, with 3,762 yards, 20 touchdowns, eight interceptions and a 93.7 passer rating. His numbers have held steady at that level for three seasons, and he should have a similar 2025 season. Having Puka Nacua and Davante Adams to throw to will help. There were questions about whether Stafford would return to the Rams this season, but he got a two-year, $84 million deal. That made all sides happy. Unless Stafford hits the age cliff this season, he should remain one of the NFC's best quarterbacks. Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford had another successful season together with the Los Angeles Rams in 2024. (Photo by) (Nic Antaya via Getty Images) BetMGM odds breakdown From Yahoo's Ben Fawkes: 'Matthew Stafford is back at QB after some offseason trade rumors, and that alone makes Los Angeles a contender. The Rams are a hefty favorite (-180) to make the postseason at BetMGM. Oddsmakers have it as a two-team race in the NFC West, as Los Angeles has the second-best odds (+185), right behind the 49ers at +160. Los Angeles is favored in 13 games and has to travel only once to the East Coast between Weeks 4 and 13. With the infrastructure of Sean McVay and Stafford, I'd wager on the Rams making another trip to the playoffs." Advertisement Yahoo's fantasy take From Yahoo's Scott Pianowski: "It's important to recognize when a fantasy candidate has more or less real-life value than fantasy value; you need to mind that gap. Puka Nacua could be one of those guys, perhaps more valuable in the real world. "The Rams haven't unlocked Nacua as a touchdown scorer (just 10 in 31 career games, including the playoffs), and they had little success with Nacua around the goal last year. And now Davante Adams joins the offense, a player put on the Earth to score touchdowns. Nacua also has more injury risk than the average player — he missed six games last year, and all four of his college seasons were injury-riddled. I understand the upside of Nacua — if healthy, he has a fair chance to lead the league in receptions. But he's currently commanding a Top 10 pick in Yahoo leagues, and I won't sign off on that." Stat to remember The Rams nailed their 2024 first-round pick of outside linebacker Jared Verse. As a rookie, Verse led the NFL with 66 quarterback hurries via Pro Football Focus. That was four more than any other player. It was 10 more than Myles Garrett, 22 more than Micah Parsons and 38 more than T.J. Watt. Verse won NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. Advertisement The next step for Verse is turning more of those hurries into sacks. Verse had just 4.5 sacks last season. He was disappointed in that number. It wouldn't be a surprise to see his sack total double or maybe even triple in his second season. "The biggest thing I realized was how many sacks — and not even just sacks but big plays — I missed out on," Verse said, via the team's site. "Dropping in coverage, I could have done this; or rushing the pass, I could have done that. Even in the run game a couple of times, there were things where I'm a little too far inside, I'm a little too far outside, and I could have made a big impact play. So realizing that this really is a game of inches — whether it's just stopping the ball or actually just doing your job — there's a couple of things I could've done better." Burning question Can Kyren Williams continue to produce? When the Rams drafted Blake Corum last year, they indicated that Williams' workload would be lessened. That didn't happen. Williams had over five times as many carries as Corum (316 to 58). No other Rams back had more than 20 carries. In an era of running back committees, Williams is a throwback. Sean McVay clearly trusts Williams, who is productive without being explosive. Williams had just two 20-yard runs last season, tied for the fewest in the NFL among backs with more than 801 yards (Rico Dowdle was the other). He didn't have a single 40-yard run. Yet Williams averaged a reasonable 4.1 yards per carry. The Rams know what they're getting when they hand Williams the ball. This year Los Angeles drafted Jarquez Hunter, using a valuable fourth-round pick on him after spending a third-round selection on Corum last year. That indicates the Rams would like to have more flavors in their backfield than just Williams. We'll see if that happens, or McVay reverts to overloading his reliable starter. Advertisement Best-case scenario Los Angeles' offense will likely be good again. Davante Adams could make it even better than last season. But the Rams' biggest growth potential is on defense. The Rams were really young there last season. Defensive linemen Kobie Turner and Braden Fiske; outside linebackers Byron Young and Jared Verse; inside linebacker Omar Speights; and defensive backs Kamren Kinchens, Quentin Lake and Kam Curl are all under 27 years old. The Rams gave up 314 rushing yards to the Eagles in Week 12, but after that their defense ranked 10th in EPA (expected points added) allowed per play, including the postseason. It was sixth in EPA allowed against the pass after Week 12. There are still questions about the run defense and the cornerback position, but it's reasonable to believe a very young defense improves after last season's strong finish. If L.A.'s defense grows and Matthew Stafford remains at his level, the Rams could win the NFC West again. And as we saw last postseason, they could be a very tough out. Advertisement Nightmare scenario It's natural to focus on the Rams' surge after their bye, and ignore the 1-4 start. But that bad start happened too. The Rams also allowed Saquon Barkley to rush for an Eagles record 255 yards in a Week 12 game, were 26th in yards per rush allowed, yielded 29 passing touchdowns to tie for the fifth most in the NFL and were 31st in yards per rush. A lot of offseason focus has been on the Rams being close to beating Philadelphia in the playoffs, but they also trailed 28-15 with less than five minutes remaining before a late rally. Maybe that game wasn't as close as we like to remember, and perhaps we're choosing to ignore some of the Rams' holes going into this season. They won eight games by seven or fewer points, and that's hard to replicate. They had a point differential of -19. Many advanced stats had the Rams being about in the middle of the NFL last season. For many NFL teams near the middle, the difference between being celebrated and ignored is catching a few timely breaks to turn 50-50 outcomes in their favor. If the breaks don't go the Rams' way this season, they might be nowhere near another NFC West title. The crystal ball says Sean McVay is a bankable asset. He will always get the most out of his roster. Even though there are some reasons to believe the Rams might regress, I'm willing to give McVay the benefit of the doubt and believe he can guide a quickly developing defense and a strong offensive core to another winning record. The 49ers and Rams are back-to-back in these rankings, and not much separates them. As stated in the 49ers' preview, the NFC West race could come down to Week 18 (unfortunately the final meeting between the Rams and 49ers comes in Week 10). I'll give the Rams a very slight edge in the division for now, but it feels like a 50/50 proposition.
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Rich Eisen Gives His Take on Matthew Stafford's Hall of Fame Credentials
Rich Eisen Gives His Take on Matthew Stafford's Hall of Fame Credentials originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Debate over whether or not Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford will make the NFL Hall of Fame will rumble on until after he retires. Then it will start to heat up, just like it has with former New York Giants QB Eli Manning, who was a two-time Super Bowl MVP. Advertisement Stafford won the 2021 Super Bowl but was not crowned the MVP; that honor went to wide receiver Cooper Kupp. The 37-year-old signal caller won the big prize with the Rams in his first season after being traded from the Detroit Lions. He spent 12 seasons there, most of which were spent on struggling teams. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images NFL Gameday Host Rich Eisen spoke on his show, 'The Rich Eisen Show,' about Stafford's Pro Football Hall of Fame credentials. He pointed to the numbers, among other reasons. 'The numbers I have given, to me, makes it a no brainer.' said Eisen 'You can say 'stat compiler' but he was doing it for one of the worst teams in the NFL and stuck it out to the point where he said 'I need to go somewhere else', and then as soon as he got somewhere else, he got the ring.' Advertisement Stafford has better numbers than many other quarterbacks, all while being on a worse team. He also broke numerous records during his time in Detroit while also leading the team to its first playoff birth in 12 seasons. Heisen pointed out Dan Marino, who is in the NFL Hall of Fame, as a comparison. You can't control who's drafting you.' Eisen said 'Now, you control if you stay with them, and he wanted to restore the roar there, and you know, the fact that he was a Lion that whole time, and he's got better stats than Marino and he's got a ring. How does that not?' Related: Hall of Fame RB Believes LA Rams Are the Best in the NFC West This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 5, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Bleacher Report names Seahawks' most promising building block
The Seattle Seahawks' roster mixes veterans and ascending talents alike. The 2025 Seahawks will be carried (or let down) by the performances of Sam Darnold, Cooper Kupp, DeMarcus Lawrence, and company. But developing players like Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Charles Cross, Nick Emmanwori, and Grey Zabel will also play a large role in 2025's outcome. The Bleacher Report recently conducted an exercise that names every NFL team's most promising roster building block. For the Seahawks, you'd expect that to be Smith-Njigba or Cross, perhaps. Instead, B/R pulls a mini surprise by naming sophomore linebacker Tyrice Knight. Advertisement "As a rookie, Tyrice Knight settled into a starting role after the Seattle Seahawks released Tyrel Dodson," Moe Moton wrote. "He made the team look smart for making the midseason move. In 16 outings (nine starts), Knight registered 88 tackles, three for loss, two pass breakups and 1.5 sacks. As the unquestioned starter alongside Ernest Jones IV, the second-year pro could lead the team in tackles and help supplement the pass rush." Knight was certainly one of Seattle's most inspiring stories down the stretch of 2024. Now in an unquestioned role next to Ernest Jones IV, the former UTEP standout appears primed for a massive step forward as a sophomore. Linebacker is such an important position in Mike Macdonald's defense. There's every reason to believe Knight will fly around sideline to sideline. According to former NFL linebacker David Wyman of 710 Seattle Sports, Knight is a tick faster in diagnosing what he sees on the field. A big-time season is on the horizon for Knight. This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: Bleacher Report: Seahawks' most promising roster building block
Daily Mail
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
NFL star Sam Darnold and girlfriend Katie Hoofnagle announce major personal news
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold and girlfriend Katie Hoofnagle have announced their engagement in a shared social media post. The pair announced Darnold getting down on one knee, proposing, and Hoofnagle saying, 'YES!' on late Monday night. Darnold's beachfront proposal occurred in Dana Point, California, with the Seahawks signal caller, 28, wearing a plain white t-shirt, dark jeans, and matching Chuck Taylor All-Stars. Hoofnagle, 27, appears in a beige dress for the proposal before switching into a white gown to take more posed photos. Surrounding the proposal appears dozens of white flowers in a semi-circle. Hoofnagle's diamond ring is accentuated by a lavish Tissot watch. The couple appear to now be based in Washington with Darnold making the move from the Minnesota Vikings to the NFC West this offseason. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Katie Hoofnagle (@_hoofy) Darnold signed a three-year, $100.5 million contract with Seattle in March, earning $37.5million fully guaranteed. The huge payday for the once-journeyman quarterback comes after leading the Vikings to 14 regular-season wins after being hastily inserted as the team's starter. Darnold's elevation came after Kirk Cousins opted to sign with the Atlanta Falcons and JJ McCarthy tore his meniscus in the preseason. Now, he'll start anew with plenty of momentum with a re-tooled Seahawks team, including new-addition wide receiver Cooper Kupp. Hoofnagle was a club soccer player at South Carolina herself, hard-launching her relationship with Darnold on social media in 2023. It is unclear how the couple met, although Darnold played for the Carolina Panthers for two seasons in 2021 and 2022. Hoofnagle has plenty of photos on NFL sidelines on social media, showing she has fully embraced the league WAG lifestyle.
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Cooper Kupp wakes up with 'GMFB' and discusses joining Seahawks in offseason
Cooper Kupp wakes up with 'GMFB' and discusses joining Seahawks in offseason Wide receiver Cooper Kupp wakes up with "GMFB" and discusses joining the Seattle Seahawks in offseason, what quarterback Sam Darnold will bring to the team at QB.
