The Los Angeles Rams are a perfect example of the difference a quarterback change can make – and they haven’t even played a single game yet. But based on projections from analysts around the NFL, the expectation is that the Rams will be significantly better with Matthew Stafford at quarterback than Jared Goff.
Peter King of NBC Sports wrote his season preview in this week’s column and he’s higher on the Rams than perhaps any other analyst out there. Though he only picked Los Angeles to finish third in the NFC, he has the Rams winning three playoff games, making it to Super Bowl LVI and winning it at home over the Buffalo Bills, 33-24.
Furthermore, he predicted season awards for players and coaches, and his confidence in Stafford is abundantly clear. He picked Stafford to win MVP over Josh Allen and Tom Brady, as well as Offensive Player of the Year over Dalvin Cook and Nick Chubb.
A healthy Stafford, in a 17-game season and with that Rams backfield, could be the first quarterback to throw for 6,000 yards in a year.
During King’s training camp tour, one NFL coach told him just how good he expects the pairing of Stafford and Sean McVay to be in Los Angeles.
“Stafford with Sean is going to be fantastic,” the coach told King. “Sean’s been waiting for a guy who can execute everything he wants to call.”
The biggest surprise in King’s column might be him not picking Aaron Donald to win Defensive Player of the Year. He has Donald finishing second to T.J. Watt. Based on the odds for that award, Watt winning it over Donald would be a slight upset, but maybe there will be voter fatigue with Donald winning it three times in the last four years.
The expectations surrounding the Rams are extremely high, as evidenced by King’s picks. There’s a lot to live up to in Los Angeles, especially with the Super Bowl being at SoFi Stadium. But this is a talented team capable of winning it all.
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