The Los Angeles Rams are hoping to take another step forward from their 10-7 2023 season despite losing Aaron Donald to retirement. The offense is hoping to grow behind a retooled offensive line and run game, while the defense has a new-look secondary and defensive line thanks to a few free-agent additions and draft picks.
ESPN’s Mike Clay projected individual stats for the entire Rams' roster. He expects Matthew Stafford and Kyren Williams to put up similar numbers to the ones they had in 2023, while Puka Nacua remains the Rams’ top-flight offensive threat.
On defense, Kobie Turner and Byron Young lead the way on the Donald-less pass rush, with Ernest Jones racking up plenty of production once again. Take a look at Clay’s projections for each player below.
Quarterbacks
Matthew Stafford: 347-of-536, 4,065 yards, 23 TDs, 12 INTs, 35 sacks (15 games)
Jimmy Garoppolo: 45-of-69, 544 yards, 5 TDs, 2 INTs, 5 sacks
It feels pretty unlikely that Matthew Stafford crosses the 4k-yard mark this year if the sense we're all getting about their commitment to the run game is true. I'd bank on him surpassing that TD total this year though.
Running backs
Kyren Williams: 242 carries, 1,127 yards, 10 TDs (35 catches, 285 yards, 2 TDs)
Blake Corum: 110 carries, 472 yards, 3 TDs (18 catches, 130 yards, 1 TD)
Ronnie Rivers: 23 carries, 98 yards, 1 TD (4 catches, 30 yards)
Boston Scott: 8 carries, 34 yards
Clay does have Kyren Williams still taking the lead in the Rams' backfield this season. Clay projects Williams to play 14 of 17 games but still score 12 total touchdowns, which would tie his mark from last season. I'd bank on Corum being more involved than this, however.
Wide Receivers
Puka Nacua: 136 targets, 89 catches, 1,242 yards, 6 TDs
Cooper Kupp: 118 targets, 78 catches, 1,000 yards, 7 TDs
Demarcus Robinson: 88 targets, 58 catches, 700 yards, 4 TDs
Tutu Atwell: 34 targets, 20 catches, 269 yards, 1 TD
Tyler Johnson: 17 targets, 11 catches, 125 yards, 1 TD
Jordan Whittington: 11 targets, 7 catches, 85 yards, 1 TD
This is about how I'd project the group, sans I believe Whittington could be a smidgen more involved than this. The offense will likely still continue to run through Puka Nacua, even if Kupp stays healthy in 2024. I can appreciate the significant gap between Robinson and Atwell for the WR3/4 spots, as that feels pretty accurate for the two. We'll see if Atwell makes the roster in 2025.
Tight End
Tyler Higbee: 49 targets, 33 catches, 348 yards, 2 TDs
Colby Parkinson: 44 targets, 31 catches, 305 yards, 2 TDs
Davis Allen: 5 targets, 3 catches, 35 yards
Hunter Long: 8 targets, 5 catches, 55 yards
Much like Palpatine, somehow Higbee returned from a torn MCL and ACL to lead the Rams' tight ends in production for this season. We've not gotten any updates on his timeframe to return, but it does seem likely that he will open 2024 on the PUP list. After that, we'll see how quickly he can get back to form. I think Davis Allen will be the team's surprise breakout player this season so 3 receptions is a disappointing tally.
Defense
Defensive Line
Kobie Turner: 57 tackles, 6.5 sacks
Braden Fiske: 38 tackles, 2.1 sacks
Bobby Brown: 40 tackles, 1.5 sacks
Larell Murchison: 30 tackles, 1.6 sacks
Desjuan Johnson: 19 tackles, 1.4 sacks
Cory Durden: 6 tackles, .3 sacks
This group is only projected to hit 13.5 sacks, a startlingly low tally. It's entirely possible with Aaron Donald's retirement and their lack of depth, but the non-Donald players hit 16 by themselves last season. 2.1 sacks for Fiske would make an already puzzling pick feel that much worse.
Pass rushers
Jared Verse: 34 tackles, 4.9 sacks
Byron Young: 61 tackles, 6.6 sacks
Michael Hoecht: 62 tackles, 4.9 sacks
Nick Hampton: 6 tackles, 0.8 sacks
Keir Thomas: 3 tackles, 0.3 sacks
Clay projects Hoecht to play almost 300 more snaps than first-round pick Jared Verse, a pretty stunning outcome. Despite that, he and Verse still tie for projected sack numbers. The Rams probably would hope for more production than that for Verse, who likely starts week 1.
Keir Thomas getting the nod over Brennan Jackson or Ochaun Mathis is also a surprising result.
Linebackers
Ernest Jones: 157 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 1.1 INTs
Christian Rozeboom: 76 tackles, 0.9 sacks, 0.6 INT
Troy Reeder: 24 tackles, 0.3 sacks, 0.2 INT
Jones lapping the field in production shouldn't be a surprise, as he is the clear leader of the defense. This feels like a pretty solid projection for the room as a whole. If Jones hit that tally, he would move just shy of the top-10 in career tackles in Rams history. Rozeboom has been quietly productive, although 76 tackles would be a career-high.
Cornerback
Darious Williams: 60 tackles, 2.8 INTs
Tre'Davious White: 59 tackles, 1.7 INTs
Quentin Lake: 58 tackles, 1.1 INTs
Cobie Durant: 19 tackles, 0.4 INT
Derion Kendrick: 14 tackles, 0.4 INT
Clay expects it to be Williams, White and Lake as the primary corners, with Williams and White on the outside, and Lake covering the slot, which is where I have it. This would be a nice rebound season for Tre'Davious White. Durant and Kendrick are expected to be the backups. We'll see if Kendrick sticks on the roster though.
Safety
Kamren Curl: 110 tackles, 1.6 INTs
Russ Yeast: 76 tackles, 1.7 INTs
Kamren Kinchens: 36 tackles, 0.8 INT
Jason Taylor II: 10 tackles, 0.2 INT
If Kinchens is getting out-snapped that much by Russ Yeast, then the Rams' have a pretty big problem on their hands. All three players will probably get opportunities to play meaningful snaps with how frequently the Rams utilize three-safety sets, but Kinchens is already the better player than Yeast. Him not being able to get on the field here would be a pretty disastrous result all told.
Special Teams
Kicking
Joshua Karty: 27-for-33 on FGs, 39-for-42 on PATs
Ethan Evans: 66 punts, 3,073 yards (46.8 avg)
Kick Returns
Ronnie Rivers: 62 returns, 1429 yards, .4 TDs
Tutu Atwell: 16 returns, 357 yards, .1 touchdowns (30 punt returns, 276 yards, .2 TDs)
While many might feel indignant on Karty actually missing a PAT here, I am particularly stunned at Ronnie Rivers' return yardage. 1,429 for a player who has pretty much never been the returner would be stunning, even with the new rules. I would expect Boston Scott and maybe even Puka Nacua and Jordan Whittington making a dent here.
Atwell has yet to show he can serve as a returner, but it would help ensure he makes the roster.
