The Los Angeles Rams are being sized up in two very different ways heading into the 2026 season. On one hand, ESPN has them as the current Super Bowl favorite. On the other, Aaron Schatz’s latest ranking puts them dead last in under-25 talent across the NFL.
That split says plenty about how the Rams operate. This is not a team built around patience or a long runway.
Los Angeles has spent years leaning into a win-now formula, dealing draft capital for proven players and trusting that veteran production can keep the club in the championship mix. It worked on the way to Super Bowl 56, and it has kept Sean McVay’s team in the conversation ever since.
The youth ranking reflects that approach. ESPN evaluated all 32 teams based on under-25 talent entering the 2026 season, weighing young starters, snaps played, performance, contracts, positional value, draft capital and expected roles. The Rams fell from No. 18 a year ago to No. 32 this time around.
That does not mean the roster is short on quality. It means the quality is mostly coming from players who are already established rather than from a wave of young talent.
Only two Rams players under 25 started a game last season: safety Kamren Kinchens, who turns 24 in September, and tight end Terrance Ferguson, who is 23. Second-round rookie tight end Max Klare also recently turned 23.
Compared with teams like New England, Houston and Chicago - all of whom have multiple young starters at premium spots - that is a thin group. The Rams are not asking an under-25 core to carry the load. They are asking veterans to do it.
Nowhere is that clearer than at quarterback. ESPN’s lone blue-chip Rams player under 25 was first-round pick Ty Simpson, who turns 24 in December.
But the plan is not for Simpson to take over anytime soon. Matthew Stafford remains the starter, and he is still the engine of the whole operation.
Stafford is 38 and just put together an MVP season, throwing for 4,707 yards and 46 touchdowns. As long as he stays healthy and keeps producing, Simpson’s job is to learn behind one of the most accomplished quarterbacks of his era. The Rams used a valuable pick on a potential successor, but their best shot at another title still runs through Stafford.
Part of the reason Los Angeles landed so low in the rankings is that several notable players aged out of the exercise. Puka Nacua, Trent McDuffie and Warren McClendon Jr. were among the Rams players who no longer qualified because they had turned 25.
That does not make them any less important. It just means ESPN’s list is about long-term upside, not current value. And that is where the Rams’ profile gets interesting: the team is loaded with talent, but much of it is already in or near its prime.
There is a downside to that setup. A roster built around veterans can turn quickly if injuries hit, production slips or Stafford’s eventual retirement forces a reset. At some point, Simpson and the other recent draft picks will have to become central pieces.
For now, though, Los Angeles is not chasing roster balance. It is chasing another championship.
New England topped ESPN’s under-25 rankings because it has both immediate promise and a strong young foundation. The Rams finished last because their title hopes are tied to proven veterans.
The Patriots may be built for the next decade. The Rams are built for right now.
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Now the question is less about what Stafford can do and more about how the Rams preserve it. There has been growing talk of trimming his camp reps as he gets older, while using more of that time to develop the backups and keep the quarterback room sharper overall. For a team trying to balance urgency with long-term planning, the decision on how to handle Stafford in camp could end up shaping not just 2026, but the way the Rams approach the position beyond it. [Read more 🡒]