Winning a Super Bowl requires great coaching, a talented roster and strong work ethic. The Los Angeles Rams showed last season that they possess all three, making it all the way to Super Bowl LIII where they came up just short against the Patriots.
Entering 2019, they still have Sean McVay at the helm, a deep roster and the drive to get even better, once again making them championship contenders. But how does their overall talent compare to other teams in the NFL?
Gil Brandt of NFL Media recently ranked the 10 most talented teams in football and not surprisingly, the Rams made the list. It would’ve been criminal to leave them out of the top 10, but Brandt is confident enough to put them in the top five.
He ranked the Rams fourth behind only the Eagles, Cowboys and Bears – all NFC contenders who the Rams will likely have to beat to win it all.
Here’s part of what Brandt had to say about the Rams:
Arguably no team in the NFL has better long-term personnel vision than the Rams. As an example: Seeing that the 2019 draft and free-agent classes would be light in receiver and cornerback prospects, they moved aggressively on the trade market in 2018, acquiring receiver Brandin Cooks and cornerbacks Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters. Using trades rather than free agency to address these needs also allowed L.A. to collect extra compensatory picks this year. Of course, the Rams have done well in the draft (the collection of homegrown talent includes Aaron Donald, Todd Gurley, Jared Goff, Cooper Kupp, Rob Havenstein, Joseph Noteboom, Brian Allen and Michael Brockers) and in free agency (the signings of left tackle Andrew Whitworth and receiver Robert Woods couldn’t have gone much better than they did).
Brandt also complimented Snead for the work he’s done building the roster and working in harmony with his coaches. He likes the cap-savvy moves Los Angeles made to part ways with Alec Ogletree and Mark Barron, while also adding affordable veterans such as Eric Weddle and Clay Matthews.
Behind the Rams on the list are the Patriots (No. 5), Chiefs (No. 7) and the Saints (No. 8). Many view the Saints as the top team in the conference, boasting a wealth of talent on offense and defense, as well as a future Hall of Fame quarterback.