Could Rams Target Sports Illustrated's Top Ranked Quarterbacks in 2026?

With the terms regarding Matthew Stafford's new deal becoming public, there is a timeline for when the Rams might expect to have to replace their legendary passer and thus, they could be interested in a quarterback during the 2026 NFL Draft.

Les Snead isn't afraid to move up in the draft for players they want, having done so for Jared Goff in the past. Snead also has two first round picks in 2026 to pull off a deal.

Sports Illustrated's Daniel Flick named his top two quarterbacks in next year's draft, and if the Rams do want a passer, the choice could come down to LSU's Garrett Nussmeier and Penn State's Drew Allar.

Nussmeier is considered by many, including Flick, as the top quarterback in the class.

"The son of six-year NFL quarterback and New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier, Garrett Nussmeier is a natural-born signal-caller." Wrote Flick. "He’s a fluid passer with a quality arm, and he has tremendous feel for pressure and maneuvering the pocket at 6' 2" and 200 pounds."

"Nussmeier is accurate to all parts of the field, though he needs to find more consistency with his vertical shots. He’s comfortable threading tight windows and throwing into small gaps in zone coverage. Nussmeier occasionally bails out of the pocket prematurely, and he’s a drifter who throws from an unsettled foundation too often. He needs to hasten his progressions and prove he can process full-field reads in 2025."

While the Rams could get him, if the Saints are as bad as we expect them to be, they could own the top pick and want Nussmeier, considering his close relationship to his dad and by extention, head coach Kellen Moore.

While the Saints did draft Tyler Shough, if Shough fails to establish himself as the full-time starter and Nussmeier is there for them to pick, Shough would have about as much job security as the Panthers gave Jimmy Clausen right before drafting Cam Newton.

Drew Allar is another interesting prospect.

"When Allar is in sync, he glows with starter-level tools. The 6' 5", 236-pounder is a traditional big-bodied pocket passer who generates terrific velocity on his throws and has an elastic arm capable of producing different throwing angles."

"He’s impressive working inside of structure, can get through full-field reads and has a solid feel for managing the pocket. Allar is an average athlete who can escape immediate pressure and be a factor in the option game, but he’s not the type of runner teams form their game plan around. Allar has sporadic accuracy—he has too many uncompetitive misses, and his ball placement is too often late, low or behind his receiver."

"Penn State’s offense didn’t task Allar with pushing throws downfield. His arm is strong enough to challenge defenses vertically, but much of his work is in the short and intermediate game, though he can hit all quadrants of the field. He threw six more interceptions in 2024 than ’23 despite tossing only five more passes. Allar’s size, arm strength and glimpses of accuracy create an intriguing upside—he just needs to blend it together more frequently."

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