The Los Angeles Rams are in the midst of a playoff push in the NFC, largely thanks to the play of some key contributors on each side of the ball. Considering they aren’t one of the top teams in the NFL right now, the Rams probably won’t send many players to the Pro Bowl. However, that doesn’t mean they don’t have several guys who are deserving of consideration and recognition.
Pro Bowl voting has already started and only Aaron Donald and Puka Nacua were among the top 10 at their positions. Could the Rams get a few more in the top 10 during the next round of voting?
These eight players are performing like Pro Bowlers this season, including a pair of rookies and one of their free-agent additions.
When healthy, Stafford is one of the most underrated quarterbacks in the league. We’re seeing that this season with Stafford putting together an impressive campaign despite battling through hip and thumb injuries that clearly hindered him for several weeks.
Stafford ranks fifth in the NFL in big-time throws, according to Pro Football Focus, and his nine turnover-worthy plays are the fourth-fewest at the position. His passing grade of 80.3 is the ninth-best among all quarterbacks and he’s doing it with a young supporting cast that’s not exactly littered with stars.
Nacua was already in the top 10 of wide receiver vote-getters after the first round of voting, but he deserves to be selected for the Pro Bowl as a rookie this season. He has the 10th-most receptions among all wideouts, fifth-most yards and the 10th-most targets. And like Stafford, that’s despite playing through countless nicks, bumps and bruises all season.
Nacua has already cemented himself as one of the best young receivers in football and is unquestionably the top performer at the position from his 2023 draft class.
Only one player in the NFL is averaging more rushing yards per game than Williams this season, and that’s Christian McCaffrey. If McCaffrey is a lock for the Pro Bowl with his 90.5 rushing yards per game, why shouldn’t Williams be with his 89-yard average? Williams is scoring a bunch of touchdowns like McCaffrey, too, finding the end zone 10 times in just nine games.
Had Williams not gotten hurt and missed four games, he might just be the league’s leading rusher. He has four games with 100-plus rushing yards, six games with 100-plus yards from scrimmage and four games with two touchdowns. He deserves to be a Pro Bowler in a year where there’s no elite class of running backs outside of McCaffrey.
Dotson’s Pro Football Focus grade dropped off a little bit after putting together two subpar performances in a row the last two weeks, but he’s still the 11th-highest-graded lineman in football and the third-best guard. He’s only allowed 16 total pressures at right guard and has been called for only two penalties. His addition to the offensive line has done wonders for the Rams’ unit up front and he should absolutely be getting attention as a potential Pro Bowler.
Is there really any surprise that Donald is playing like a Pro Bowler again this year? He has 70 total pressures, which are the most of any interior defender and fifth overall. He might “only” have six sacks, but that’s largely because A) he’s getting doubled and tripled more than most players and B) teams are getting the ball out quickly to avoid Donald.
If Donald isn’t a Pro Bowler, it would be a massive letdown and a failure on the part of voters because there aren’t many defensive tackles playing better than him right now, if any at all.
Let’s preface this by saying Turner isn’t going to make the Pro Bowl. No matter how well he’s played, he’s simply not a big enough name to generate buzz from non-Rams fans, and he plays a position that doesn’t get much love to begin with. However, that doesn’t mean he isn’t playing like a Pro Bowler.
He has the 21st-best PFF grade among all defensive tackles, his 28 total pressures are the third-most among rookies at his position and his seven sacks are not only tied for the most of any rookie, but his seven credited sacks by Pro Football Focus are sixth among all defensive tackles. Again, he’s not going to make it, but Turner is shining for the Rams.
There are few linebackers in the NFL with the all-around skill set that Jones has. He leads all inside linebackers with 23 total pressures this season, while his run defense grade of 82.0 ranks 10th at his position. He’s had some lapses in coverage, resulting in his 59.5 coverage grade from PFF, but he’s a do-it-all player for Los Angeles who’s playing at a very high level.
It’s hard to make the Pro Bowl as a linebacker with players such as Fred Warner, Demario Davis and Bobby Wagner all in the NFC, but Jones is playing really well for Los Angeles and deserves Pro Bowl recognition.
Witherspoon was brought in this offseason to compete for a roster spot, and what the Rams got was a high-caliber starting cornerback who’s played just about every snap. He has three interceptions on the year and is allowing a completion rate of only 46.7 (3rd among CBs), giving up a passer rating of only 64.1 when targeted, the seventh-lowest at his position.
Witherspoon will need to make more big plays down the stretch if he’s going to have any shot at making the Pro Bowl, but he’s been a stud for the Rams all season, aside from a couple of poor performances against the Seahawks and Steelers.