Turf Show Times
Every immediate move that the Los Angeles Rams have made this offseason is a move that helps the defense. The Rams didn’t do anything to help the offense next season—that we know about yet, at least.
Third-round pick Keagan Trost could be the closest to seeing the field, among new players on offense. Every single starter, and most of the key backups, were on L.A.’s roster last year. So will it be the same? Yes and no.
These 5 predictions will be familiar, but different.
The additions of Myles Garrett, Trent McDuffie, and Jaylen Watson should help the Rams allow fewer points in 2026, giving Sean McVay more opportunities to lean on a balanced, ball-control offense. A better defense means fewer shootouts, more fourth-quarter leads, and fewer Sundays in which Stafford has to throw 40 or 45 passes just to keep pace.
That’s good for the Rams, even if it’s bad for Stafford’s MVP case.
Stafford threw for 4,707 yards in his MVP campaign, only the second 4,000-yard season of his Rams career. Both of those seasons required roughly 600 pass attempts.
In 2024, Stafford attempted only 517 passes—his fewest in any career season with at least 11 starts. I expect him to be closer to 500 attempts than 600 again in 2026, especially if the Rams spend more time protecting leads.
But as you can see, Stafford averaged 600 passing attempts in the two seasons with at least 4,000 yards. A better Rams team means fewer Stafford passing attempts, and hence fewer yards.
If Stafford falls short of another MVP trophy because the Rams don’t need him to carry the offense every week, Sean McVay will happily make that trade.
This would be no small accomplishment given that Nacua led the NFL with 107.2 yards per game in 2025, and he is the all-time career leader with 95.3 yards per game in his career. That number figures to go up again in 2026 and the only question I really have about Puka Nacua is how many games will he actually be available for?
The easiest way to project the Rams’ passing offense is to ask one question: Why would Stafford stop throwing to the best receiver in football?
Nacua’s off-field setbacks have been well-documented, but his injury history is the bigger obstacle at play for his availability.
Nacua missed six games in 2024 and still nearly reached 1,000 yards anyway.
After Cooper Kupp’s release in 2025, Nacua was set free to face no challengers as Stafford’s number one receiver. Not even Davante Adams, who missed three games and isn’t the high-volume target threat he used to be. Aside from Nacua and Adams:
