Updated: August 31, 2026. The season recap covers 2025; personnel sections look ahead to 2026. Aaron Donald has returned and Predictions, Seedings and Standings have been added.
Leadership and Coordinators
- Owner: Stan Kroenke Kroenke continues to fund an aggressive operation comfortable exchanging future assets for elite present-day talent.
- Decision Maker: Les Snead — General Manager Snead remains the roster architect, pairing bold veteran acquisitions with increasingly productive draft-and-develop work.
- Head Coach: Sean McVay Entering his 10th season, McVay has produced winning records in all but one year and remains the offense’s central designer.
- Offensive Coordinator: Nate Scheelhaase Promoted after serving as pass-game coordinator, Scheelhaase replaces Mike LaFleur and helps McVay evolve the league’s highest-scoring offense.
- Defensive Coordinator: Chris Shula Shula’s 2025 defense ranked near the top of the league in pressure, red-zone efficiency and rushing touchdowns allowed.
- Special Teams Coordinator: Bubba Ventrone Ventrone arrives from Cleveland to stabilize a phase that became unreliable enough to require an in-season 2025 change.
2025 Season Recap
The regular season also featured the discipline that championship teams require. Los Angeles committed only 75 penalties, the fewest in the league, and repeatedly converted formation complexity into clean execution. Those margins helped the Rams survive the NFC West’s weekly intensity without sacrificing offensive ambition.
The Rams’ plus-172 point differential confirmed that the record understated very little. Los Angeles combined the league’s highest-scoring offense with a defense capable of creating pressure without sacrificing red-zone integrity. Unlike earlier versions of the McVay Rams that leaned heavily on veteran imports, this team received major work from players developed in-house across the defensive front. That balance gave the roster both an immediate championship ceiling and a more sustainable age curve than the club’s aggressive reputation might suggest.
Los Angeles went 12–5, scored an NFL-high 518 points and advanced to the NFC Championship Game before losing 31–27 at Seattle. It was both an outstanding season and a painful near miss: the Rams built the league’s most productive offense, won two road playoff games and came within one possession of returning to the Super Bowl.
Matthew Stafford authored the defining individual performance. He threw for 4,707 yards and a franchise-record 46 touchdowns, leading the league in both categories. McVay and LaFleur expanded the offense through heavy use of 13 personnel, forcing defenses to declare coverage and run fits while preserving explosive play-action opportunities. Puka Nacua remained the complete receiving centerpiece, winning through volume, contact and route detail, while Davante Adams added matchup authority and red-zone finishing.
The run game and offensive line kept the passing production from becoming hollow. Kyren Williams supplied decisive downhill work, and the Rams could change tempo without changing personnel. That multiplicity was the offense’s real advantage: the same grouping could run inside, create play action or isolate Nacua and Adams.
Shula’s defense allowed 346 points and developed into a fast, disruptive complement. Jared Verse and Byron Young drove the edge rush, Kobie Turner created interior movement, and the unit finished with 47 sacks. It also allowed only eight rushing touchdowns and held opponents to 46.2 percent in the red zone. The secondary was more vulnerable, which helps explain the aggressive 2026 overhaul.
Los Angeles finished second despite a 12–5 record because Seattle survived the division’s defining overtime game and later secured the top seed. The Rams beat Carolina 34–31 in the Wild Card round and then advanced through the Divisional Round, proving their offense translated to postseason pressure. In Seattle, they accumulated 479 yards but failed to convert enough of that production into the final winning score.
The response has been emphatic. Snead traded for All-Pro corner Trent McDuffie, later acquired Myles Garrett from Cleveland and drafted Stafford’s potential successor in Ty Simpson. Those moves reflect a team attacking both timelines: Garrett and McDuffie are for the immediate championship window, while Simpson protects the future at quarterback. With Stafford, Nacua and a young defensive front already in place, the Rams enter 2026 as one of the few teams whose Super Bowl expectations are fully supported by both performance and roster quality. Aaron Donald, has yet to formally join the team. But the question is not really if, as much as when, will he return. Aaron Donald is lurking and now that training camp is over, it’s time to welcome him back to NFL!
2025 Division Standing
- 1. Seattle Seahawks — 14–3 (4–2 division) — Won SB PF: 483 · PA: 292
- 2. Los Angeles Rams — 12–5 (4–2 division) — Lost CC PF: 518 · PA: 346
- 3. San Francisco 49ers — 12–5 (4–2 division) — Lost DR PF: 437 · PA: 371
- 4. Arizona Cardinals — 3–14 (0–6 division) — Missed Playoffs PF: 355 · PA: 488
The Rams finished second. Their 4–2 division record matched Seattle and San Francisco, but Seattle’s superior overall record forced Los Angeles onto the road throughout the playoffs.
Notable 2026 Player Additions
- EDGE Myles Garrett (trade, Cleveland Browns) Los Angeles sent Jared Verse plus 2027 first-, 2028 second- and 2029 third-round picks for a premier edge defender. The cost demands championship-changing production, but that cost is lessened by the arrival of Aaron Donald. Similar to the Kawhi trade, the Rams may be getting two stars and not just one.
- CB Trent McDuffie (trade, Kansas City Chiefs) McDuffie received an extension through 2030 and becomes the secondary’s movable coverage centerpiece.
- CB Jaylen Watson (free agency, Kansas City Chiefs) Watson reunites with McDuffie and adds physical outside coverage on a three-year deal.
- DT Aaron Donald (return from retirement) The greatest DT of his generation may be coming back to terrorize QBs in one last run for a Super Bowl after the Garrett trade.
Notable 2026 Player Losses
- EDGE Jared Verse (traded to Cleveland Browns) Verse was a young foundational rusher; moving him makes the Garrett trade a true star-for-star gamble rather than a simple veteran addition.
- CB Cobie Durant Durant’s departure removed experience from a secondary the Rams chose to rebuild aggressively.
- QB Jimmy Garoppolo His exit increased the need for a credible developmental plan behind Stafford.
2026 Draft Class
- Round 1, Pick 13 — QB Ty Simpson, Alabama Simpson brings play-action comfort, mobility and ball security. He can develop behind Stafford rather than being forced into an immediate rescue job.
- Round 2, Pick 61 — TE Max Klare, Ohio State Klare aligned in-line, in the slot, outside and in the backfield; that versatility fits McVay’s heavy tight-end packages.
- Round 3, Pick 93 — OT Keagen Trost, Missouri Trost offers experience at both tackle spots and guard, valuable for the Rams’ game-day line flexibility.
- Round 6, Pick 197 — WR CJ Daniels, LSU Daniels is a developmental route runner competing for depth behind an elite veteran group.
- Round 7, Pick 232 — DT Tim Keenan III, Alabama Keenan is a powerful nose tackle who can absorb blocks and support early-down run defense.
2026 Spotlight Watch
- Hot Seat — Les Snead The Garrett trade is bold even by Snead’s standards. Anything short of a serious title run will invite scrutiny of the age curve and draft cost.
- Breakout Watch — Braden Fiske With attention flowing toward Garrett and Byron Young, Fiske has the interior quickness to turn pressures into a major sack jump.
- Bust Watch — Myles Garrett This is strictly a value watch: the Rams surrendered Verse and three premium picks. Excellent individual play without postseason advancement could still leave the trade disappointing.
- Team Superstar — Puka Nacua Nacua is the offense’s volume engine, combining elite separation, contact balance and blocking commitment.
Prediction
The Rams will finish in a 4-way tie for the 2nd best record in the NFL at 14-3 but will be unlucky since the best record in the NFL will be in their division. The Rams would have been projected to beat the Seahawks in Week 18 but did not play their stars, because they couldn’t win the division, and had to settle for the 5-seed once again.
Below is the complete 2026 regular season projections.
