Los Angeles Rams Ranked Behind Cleveland Browns And Others in Shocking Offseason Ranking
Los Angeles Rams Ranked Behind Cleveland Browns And Others in Shocking Offseason Ranking
The Rams have possibly been the brightest team in the league completely fixing glaring problems that hindered their Super Bowl run last year. Trading for Trent McDuffie and signing Jaylen Watson put the Rams in the top three in the league argument, but then surprising the world by making it not even a contest anymore by trading for Myles Garrett who broke the sack record last year. So to see Los Angeles come behind the Browns in a "Who won the offseason" ranking that comes at a bit of a shock.
Where did the Rams actually land on this list?
The Rams were put fourth on this list in a shocking way after being the poster child of what good teams do for most of the offseason. Josh gave his reasoning for saying they were fourth by saying;
"Every Rams offseason decision -- with the exception of drafting Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson No. 13 overall -- has been made in service of one goal: compete for a Super Bowl now. They traded for accomplished veterans Myles Garrett and Trent McDuffie, in addition to signing Jaylen Watson. Those moves addressed a weak point on the team while also adding the game's best pass rusher to close out contested affairs. When the Rams won their most recent Super Bowl, Aaron Donald, who is contemplating a return, fulfilled that role."
"The selection of Simpson did give the franchise some insurance in the present and a potential heir apparent to Matthew Stafford."
That sounds like crazy talk given those trades alone are better than all of the players drafted by the teams ranked ahead combined and notably quietly knocking them for drafting Ty Simpson after acknowledging that he did give the team some insurance and a potential heir to Stafford. His real complaint was that Alaric Jackson's situation doesn't look good saying that;
"The one hiccup within the franchise's plans has been the domestic incident involving left tackle Alaric Jackson. Los Angeles does not want to find itself in a situation against a really good pass-rushing unit that can exploit poor tackle play. The Rams are barren when considering future draft capital, so they have to capitalize on the current window."
But that argument is easily negated looking at the Rams first six games with potentially only two formidable pass rushers.
Who All Exactly Were Ahead Of The Rams On This Ranking?
When I read CBS Sports Josh Edwards ranking something just didn't seem to sit right.
How can there be other teams that did better than the Rams?
They singlehandedly took over the offseason by fixing their weak point in their defense and making their pass-rush even better with the no-doubt best one in the league. Yes some people really didn't like their selection for Ty Simpson 13th overall but this team still did things better than the bandages other teams are putting on theirs.
The first one on the list ahead of Los Angeles is:
3.The New York Jets
How a team who completely gutted their team in last year's trade deadline is ahead is hard for me to believe, but Josh defended his ranking by saying:
"New York's offseason essentially began at the NFL trade deadline when the Jets moved young stars Quinnen Williams and Sauce Gardner. Those moves were made in an effort to provide the organization with the necessary resources to find its quarterback of the future and also surround that player with the talent to win. The Jets had gone down the path of drafting a young quarterback but not investing in his supporting cast in the past. They have also signed a veteran quarterback (Aaron Rodgers) and then aggressively pursued players he wanted on the roster. Any quarterback they bring in now will have a quality, young offensive line, as well as wide receivers Garrett Wilson and Omar Cooper Jr., tight ends Mason Taylor and Kenyon Sadiq and running back Breece Hall."
He would continue his reasoning by also stating:
"While orchestrating the initial phase of its offensive plan, the Jets were active in upgrading the floor of the defense. The team traded for defensive tackle T'Vondre Sweat and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick in conjunction with signing veterans David Onyemata, Demario Davis, Joseph Ossai and Kingsley Enagbare in free agency. Defensive moves continued to be made throughout the draft, including top 50 overall selections on edge rusher David Bailey and cornerback D'Angelo Ponds."
Wrapping it up with:
"it remains to be seen if the team will be more competitive than it had been down the stretch of the 2025 season, but there is no question that the roster is more talented than it had been this time last year."
It's a convincing argument but how can a team hoping to be more competitive be ahead of a team who became the absolute Super Bowl favorites with their moves currently at a 16% chance according to Kalshi? That is just as shocking at the next team ahead of the Rams.
2. The Las Vegas Raiders
Josh continued his ranking with the Raiders, who was the least shocking of teams to have an argument with the Rams on this list, but it's still shocking to really see. They tried to trade their Superstar pass-rusher Maxx Crosby to the Baltimore Ravens and that really put an eye sore on the Raiders offseason when it fell through. But Josh did defend his thoughts with:
"The Raiders added the best quarterback prospect available this offseason: Indiana's Fernando Mendoza. Las Vegas' placement on this list is not rendered down to just being in position to pick No. 1 overall, however. The organization has made multiple strategic decisions to support Mendoza. From hiring offensive-minded Klint Kubiak to paying free agent center Tyler Linderbaum a top of the market contract to signing veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins, the rookie will have the opportunity to hit the ground running with running back Ashton Jeanty and tight end Brock Bowers."
He would continue on with;
"The team also raised the floor of its defense by signing cornerback Eric Stokes, edge rusher Kwity Paye and linebackers Quay Walker and Nakobe Dean. Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy was a fourth-round selection who, when healthy, was among the best prospects eligible for the 2026 NFL Draft. They selected a few of my other personal favorites, such as cornerback Hezekiah Masses and running back Mike Washington Jr.
Although it feels like a lifetime ago, the Maxx Crosby trade falling through feels like an addition after performatively removing him from the depth chart momentarily."
Giving the Raiders the edge because of their draft almost like the Jets kind of takes away when both of these teams are again just hoping to be competitive. Yes drafting draft favorites seems great on paper but the Rams didn't have as many picks to work with only having five, but they still made them count.
Personally I like Ty Simpson better than Mendoza, yes Simpson did lose to Mendoza in the College Football Playoffs but that was more poor coaching than he should shoulder in that loss. Plus the difference in draft capital is out weighed when the Trent McDuffie trade was announced because he is immediately better than Jermod McCoy and Hezekiah Masses combined.
But that wasn't the most shocking one ahead of the Rams that spot is held by non other than.
1.The Cleveland Browns
The Brown traded away their best player in franchise history to the team everybody knows is desperately wanting to win another Super Bowl in its home stadium. They did however gain a face of the franchise player in Jared Verse back and a first round pick in the almighty 2027 draft that is coveting players such as Arch Manning, Jeremiah Smith and Dylan Stewart. Josh did make other points by boldly saying;
"It may come as a surprise to see the Browns on this list considering the name brand value of players they have lost this offseason: Joel Bitonio, Wyatt Teller and Myles Garrett to name a few. However, the offensive line had deteriorated and they stockpiled losses over the past decade even with Garrett. The goal is to construct a respectable offense in combination with a player of Garrett's skill set, but that never materialized.
General manager Andrew Berry entirely rebuilt the offensive line this offseason by trading for Tytus Howard, signing Zion Johnson and Elgton Jenkins and drafting Spencer Fano, Parker Brailsford and Austin Barber. They concluded the 2026 NFL Draft with four of the top 25 prospects in my personal rankings: wide receivers KC Concepcion, Denzel Boston, safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren and Fano."
"The trade of Garrett brought back one of the game's best young pass rushers, Jared Verse, as well as draft resources which could be used to address the team's pursuit of the ever-evasive franchise quarterback.
Time will tell if firing Kevin Stefanski in favor of Todd Monken was the right decision, but it is clear that the franchise at least has a vision for getting out of its rut."
That is a bold decision to put Cleveland at the top of something like this, they don't usually get that kind of recognition for doing something seeming right in a graveyard of constant poor decisions. Either way the Browns are notorious for wasting draft picks and the Rams shouldn't feel worried to be burdened by the chance that they somehow find another Baker Mayfield and become the next Detroit Lions.
They are the worst drafting team in the league constantly adding another quarterback to their famous cursed jersey that is branded with each failure. And I don't foresee this being any different when they select at 32 in the 2027 draft.
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This story was originally published June 22, 2026 at 8:41 PM.