Cover photo taken from Bleacher Report.
Welcome to 32 Teams in 32 Days, a daily series leading up to kickoff of the 2025 NFL season where I preview every team in the league as decided by a wheel spin and project what their season will look like. You can keep up with everything right here.
The NFC West becomes our second division to be wrapped up as we head out to southern California, where the Rams have sky-high expectations and championship aspirations in what might be the final year of the Matthew Stafford era.
In the first month or so of last season, the idea of the Rams being back in the Super Bowl conversation seemed far-fetched to say the least. Sitting at 1-4 heading into their bye, Los Angeles seemed primed for a crash-and-burn type year with seemingly nothing going right on either side of the ball, especially with star receiver Puka Nacua out of the lineup with an injury sustained in Week 1.
But, on the other side of the bye, the Rams caught fire, winning nine of their next 11 games en route to clinching the division in Week 17, smacking the Vikings in the Wild Card round and nearly pulling off a most improbable comeback against the eventual Super Bowl champion Eagles in the Divisional.
To be honest, it’s not like the Rams turned into world-beaters or anything. The offense was 15th in EPA/play and 9th in success rate while the defense was 23rd and 25th, respectively. They just started playing their brand of football again. A lot of the credit can go to Nacua simply being back on the field as Stafford’s performances got exponentially better with his top target back out there. Even then, by the end of the year, they were winning games by scores of 6-3, 19-9 and 13-9 in consecutive weeks shortly after beating the Bills 44-42. It’s honestly one of the stranger years any team in the league had looking back on it.
Still, it felt like they left some meat on the bone. They very well could’ve beaten Philadelphia — especially if it never snowed that evening — and who knows what would’ve happened in the NFC Championship and beyond? As such, the Rams have put themselves in an ideal position this offseason: gear up for another push at a title.
At least, that’s what it seems like. It’s certainly what the media wants us to think. But if I ask you to name me a move LA pulled this offseason other than signing Davante Adams, could you do it? Didn’t think so.
Don’t get me wrong, that’s a massive addition. Adams and Nacua could comprise the most productive WR duo in football this year. My point is, the Rams didn’t necessarily break the bank or pull another “screw them picks” to get in a position to win another Super Bowl.
That’s because they didn’t need to. So much of last year’s success was banking on young players — particularly on defense — to grow up fast and become difference-makers. That’s another reason why they finished much stronger than they started. Guys like Jared Verse — who won Defensive Rookie of the Year — Braden Fiske, Kobie Turner and Byron Young helped the defensive line pull a 180 by season’s end. Though, that unit was particularly bad against the run, which will need to get buttoned up. So, the real benefit of this offseason was just getting the young guys even more seasoned and ready to rock as they make a real championship push.
Can they do it, though? It’s easy to think so. Sean McVay already has a ring and is easily a top-3 coach in football. Stafford has proven that he can still sling the rock, even though he’s getting up there in age and injuries are starting to linger — more on that in a second. Nacua, Adams, Kyren Williams and maybe even guys like Tutu Atwell and Blake Corum comprise a skill position group that should be one of the league’s best. The defense should be much better simply because of experience.
But it’s one of those situations where seemingly everything will need to go right. The top dogs need to stay healthy, the defense needs to prove it across the course of the whole season and then they need to show up and show out in the playoffs. All of that is easier said than done.
X-Factor: QB Matt Stafford’s Health
The Rams will be nothing without Stafford. That’s why the current situation regarding his health scares me. For nearly a month, he’s been dealing with a back injury that the Rams are being strangely cryptic about. It’s safe to say that it’s a little worse than it might’ve initially seemed considering he recently had to get an epidural and still has no timetable for a return. For LA’s sake, this situation better resolve itself quickly, otherwise they risk him starting the season on the PUP list and missing the first four weeks of the year — two of those games are against Houston and Philadelphia. Considering Jimmy Garoppolo and Stetson Bennett are the backup options, the Rams simply can’t afford for Stafford to miss any time. I just worry that this is worse than we think it is. He’s already old, he’s injured a decent amount and we’re clearly reaching the end of his time in the league. That’s why this season in particular feels like the last dance, and why a long-term setback would be particularly devastating.
Team MVP: WR Puka Nacua
Not only is Puka one of the best receivers in the league, but he’s simply one of the coolest stories in the NFL. From an unknown fifth-round pick to an instant-impact stud and clear star out wide, it’s an ultimate underdog story. All he’s done in his first two seasons is haul in 184 passes for 2,476 and nine touchdowns in 28 games. A combination of crisp route-running, a larger-than-frame catch radius and underrated speed have Nacua as a clear-cut upper echelon WR. And the best still might be yet to come. Now that Davante Adams is lining up beside him, secondaries will be stretched pretty thin. I think they’re both in for very productive years.
Breakout Candidate: RB Blake Corum
There was a number of ways I could’ve gone here: Kamren Kichens, Terrance Ferguson, Jordan Whittington. I went with Corum because I think he has the skillset to play his way into a lot more action this season than his quiet rookie year. Kyren Williams is the clear-cut RB1 and still remarkably productive, but I have to believe that the Rams took Corum in the third round last year for a reason. There’s got to be a plan for him in this offense to take some of the heat off Williams. I have a feeling a lot of that could come on third downs and/or in the passing game. But, we all remember how effective Corum was running between the tackles at Michigan as well. So, no matter what form the touches come in, I think he’ll make the most of them and have a much better sophomore season.
Record Prediction: 12-5
Let me get this out of the way: this is entirely contingent on Matt Stafford being fully healthy and playing every game this season. If he misses extended time or is clearly ailed by the back issues, this whole operation could go south in a hurry. But, assuming he’s good to go and everything else goes to plan, I think the Rams should be able to repeat as NFC West champs and be a top-three seed in the postseason, potentially hosting multiple playoff games. Is it going to be enough to make the Super Bowl like so many pundits are predicting? We’ll see. I’ll get into that more when the time for playoff predictions comes along. In the meantime, I’ll leave this here and hope that Stafford winds up being okay.
Next up: 
Dallas Cowboys
Raza Talks Sports 