Rams Ranked Low in Projected Playoff 2024 Teams

The Los Angeles Rams head into the 2024 season with much promise. L.A. is coming off a surprisingly good 2023 season and will look to carry that momentum into the new season.

Although the Rams lost arguably the greatest defender of all time, Aaron Donald, the team is confident they reloaded on that side of the ball to perform to the best of their ability. With less than a month until the start of the season, that will be the biggest question for the Rams.

While the Rams are confident they will be a playoff team and possibly beat the best the NFL offers, ESPN believes they will be among the bottom of the 14 teams that make the playoffs.

Bill Barnwell of ESPN ranked the 14 teams by their chances of returning to the 2024 playoffs. Although the Rams have a good chance, with 47.2 percent, Barnwell ranks them low, at No. 11 on the list — mainly due to Donald's absence.

"The most glaring absence for this L.A. team is the Hall of Fame-sized hole in its defensive line," said Barnwell. "Aaron Donald's retirement fundamentally changes what the Rams are capable of doing on that side of the ball, piling more pressure on last season's young breakout pass rushers in Byron Young and Kobie Turner. I like what the team did this offseason to add young players up front (Florida State linemen Jared Verse and Braden Fiske in the draft) and low-cost veterans in the secondary (safety Kam Curl and corners Tre'Davious White and Darious Williams), but there's no replacing one of the greatest defenders in league history. The Rams will also be without defensive coordinator Raheem Morris, who left to take the head-coaching job in Atlanta."

The Rams' most significant issue will be their defensive side of the ball; however, Barnwell also stated that their offense is a bit worrisome, particularly in the injury department with some of their biggest names.

"We already knew about Donald, but suddenly, there are absences to be worried about on offense, too. The Rams are dealing with injuries to nearly half of their first-team offense, including Kyren Williams (foot), Puka Nacua (knee), Rob Havenstein (ankle), Jonah Jackson (scapula) and Alaric Jackson (ankle). That's three starting linemen and the team's two fine young playmakers. The hope is they'll all be back for Week 1, but these were the guys who were supposed to be healthy around veterans Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp, both of whom are on the wrong side of 30 and have had recent issues staying close to 100 percent for entire seasons."

Health will be the biggest key for the Rams, especially on the offensive side of the ball. All-Pro running back Kyren Williams has already suffered his fair share of injuries in his first two years, and Puka Nacua is currently dealing with a knee injury. The hope is that he will be ready by Week 1, and we'll see if all sides of the ball, especially the top players, can be ready for 17 games and possibly beyond.

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