The Los Angeles Rams weren't content to enter the 2026 NFL season as just the Super Bowl favorites entering the month of June.
General manager Les Snead and head coach Sean McVay decided they wanted to make history on Monday by acquiring the 2025 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, edge rusher Myles Garrett, from the Cleveland Browns. CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones reported the Rams sent 25-year-old, two-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Jared Verse, a 2027 first-round pick, a 2028 second-round pick and a 2029 third-round pick to Cleveland in exchange for Garrett's services.
Pairing Garrett, who earned defensive player of the honors with an NFL single-season record 23.0 sacks in 2025, with Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, the 2025 NFL MVP who led the league in both passing yards (4,707) and passing touchdowns (46), makes the 2026 Rams the first team in NFL history to have the previous season's league MVP and Defensive Player of the Year on the same team, per CBS Sports Research.
The acquisition of Garrett is just the cherry on top of their second "all-in" sundae of the last five years, as Los Angeles looks to earn a second Super Bowl title in their home building of SoFi Stadium to wrap up the 2026 season. Prior to Monday's blockbuster move for Garrett, Los Angeles also traded a 2026 first-, a 2027 third-, a 2026 fifth- and 2026 sixth-round pick to the Kansas City Chiefs in exchange for two-time All-Pro and Super Bowl champion cornerback Trent McDuffie before inking him to a four-year, $124 million extension that made him the highest-paid corner in the entire NFL. The Rams also signed his Kansas City running mate Jaylen Watson to a three-year, $51 million contract in free agency to complete their secondary. Los Angeles secured their quarterback position for the present by re-signing Stafford to a one-year extension worth $55 million in new money and the future by drafting Alabama's Ty Simpson 13th overall in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Following the acquisition of Garrett, the 2026 Rams now have the reigning NFL leaders in passing touchdowns (Stafford with 46), passing yards (Stafford with 4,707), catches (Puka Nacua with 129), receiving touchdowns (Davante Adams with 14) and sacks (Garrett with an NFL single-season record 23.0) from the 2025 season. That's in addition to running back Kyren Williams, whose 44 touchdowns from scrimmage are the third-most in the NFL across the last three seasons, and McVay himself, whose 10 playoff wins are twice as many as any head coach in NFL history before the age of 40. Nacua also enters 2026 as the NFL's all-time receiving yards per game leader with a 95.3 average, and Garrett, a two-time Defensive Player of the Year winner, enters 2026 as the NFL's all-time sacks per game leader with a 0.94 average.
| Rams star power "all in" 2.0, 2026 season | Accolade |
|---|---|
QB Matthew Stafford | 2025 NFL MVP (1 of 15 QBs all-time with MVP & SB win) |
WR Puka Nacua | Most receiving YPG (95.3) in NFL history |
WR Davante Adams | Seventh-most receiving TD in NFL history (117) |
RB Kyren Williams | Third-most scrimmage TD (44) in NFL in last three seasons |
DE Myles Garrett | Most sacks per game (0.94) in NFL history (NFL-record 23.0 sacks in 2025) |
Two-time All-Pro and two-time Super Bowl champion | |
HC Sean McVay | Twice as many playoff wins (10) as any other HC before age 40 all-time |
Los Angeles' roster entering 2026, with Super Bowl LXI at SoFi Stadium, mirrors the last time the Rams successfully went "all in" to secure the Super Bowl LVI title at SoFi Stadium to conclude the 2021 season. That team also had Stafford and McVay in addition to 2021 NFL Offensive Player of the Year wide receiver Cooper Kupp, three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year winner Aaron Donald, three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., Super Bowl 50 MVP Von Miller and eight-time Pro Bowl cornerback Jalen Ramsey.
| Rams Star Power "All In" 1.0, 2021 season | Accolade |
|---|---|
| QB Matthew Stafford | 2025 NFL MVP (1 of 15 QBs all-time with MVP & SB win) |
| WR Cooper Kupp | 2021 NFL Offensive Player of the Year (fifth receiving triple crown winner since 1970) |
| WR Odell Beckham Jr. | 2014 Offensive Rookie of the Year, three-time Pro Bowler |
| DL Aaron Donald | Three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year (tied for the most all-time) |
| DE Von Miller | Super Bowl 50 MVP, most sacks among active players |
| CB Jalen Ramsey | Three-time first team All-Pro, Eight-time Pro Bowler |
| HC Sean McVay | Twice as many playoff wins (10) as any other HC before age 40 all-time |
Will it be enough to elevate Los Angeles from their NFC runner-up status in 2025 to the top of the mountain in 2026? Well, here's a look at how the trade for Garrett could erase what was the Rams' Achilles heel in 2025.
How Myles Garrett helps fix the Rams' biggest weakness
The Rams entered the 2026 offseason without needing to change much on the offensive side of the ball after Stafford, Nacua, Adams and Williams helped power Los Angeles to leading the NFL in scoring offense (30.5 points per game) in 2025. On the surface, the defense appeared to need minimal tweaks as that unit produced the league's 10th-ranked scoring defense, allowing 20.4 points per game.
However, there were clear underlying issues on that side of the ball on further examination. From a pass rush perspective, the Rams were strong, ranking tied for seventh in sacks (47), fourth in quarterback pressure rate (41.6%) and third in quarterback pressures (274). Those efforts were largely powered by new Cleveland Brown Jared Verse, whose 80 quarterback pressures ranked as the sixth-most in the NFL, as well as Byron Young (64 quarterback pressures, tied for 14th in the NFL) and Kobie Turner (55 quarterback pressures, tied for 20th in the NFL). Converting those pressure opportunities into sacks to help out their less-heralded cornerback group wasn't as smooth. Young's 12.0 sack total was tied for the eighth-most in the league, ranked in a similar range to his quarterback pressure numbers, but Verse's (7.5 sacks, tied for 29th in the NFL) and Turner's (7.0 sacks, tied for 35th in the NFL) sack totals were not.
That was glaringly apparent on third down when it was time to kick an opposing offense off the field. The Rams' 11.0 sacks on third down in 2025 ranked tied for the third-fewest in the NFL, and only the Dallas Cowboys' 9.0 and the San Francisco 49ers' 4.0 were worse. Dallas was the NFL's worst defense in 2025, allowing a league-high 30.1 points per game in their first year without All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons. San Francisco was without 2022 NFL Defensive Player of the Year edge rusher Nick Bosa and 2025 NFL Draft 11th overall pick defensive lineman Mykel Williams because of early, season-ending injuries.
Los Angeles' lack of a true pass rush closer who could convert pressures into sacks in 2025 led to a defensive collapse for the Rams down the stretch run of last season, when they allowed 30-or-more points in five of their last nine games. That included allowing a whopping 34.5 points per game in their two losses to the eventual Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks.
| Rams 2025 season defense, including playoffs | First 11 games (Weeks 1-12) | Last 9 games (Weeks 13-NFC title game) |
|---|---|---|
PPG allowed | 16.3 (1st) | 27.3 (26th) |
Total YPG allowed | 311.2 (9th) | 365.7 (25th) |
Pass YPG allowed | 208.5 (13th) | 246.6 (27th) |
Pass yards per attempt allowed | 6.3 (4th) | 7.6 (25th) |
TD-INT allowed | 13-12 (3rd) | 19-8 (20th) |
Passer rating allowed | 79.8 (4th) | 95.2 (23rd) |
Sacks per game | 2.8 (9th) | 2.3 (18th) |
QB pressure rate | 39.1% (10th) | 45.5% (1st) |
The good news for the Rams is that they just acquired Garrett, the NFL's best third-down pass rusher. He led the league with 11.0 sacks on third down in 2025, which was 3.5 more than the two players tied for second at 7.5 each -- Brian Burns and Jeffery Simmons. Los Angeles also won't require Garrett to reproduce his Herculean 23.0-sack season from a year ago, thanks to an improved secondary with McDuffie and Watson in place of veteran Cobie Durant, former first-round pick Emmanuel Forbes and veteran Darious Williams -- the last of whom retired after the conclusion of the 2025 season.
McDuffie has been one of the most versatile defensive backs in football since he entered the league as a first-round pick of the Chiefs back in 2022. He leads all cornerbacks in both forced fumbles (8) and quarterback pressures (31) since he became an NFL player in 2022. McDuffie is also one of four defensive backs with 25-plus passes defended (34), 15-plus quarterback hits (15) and 10-plus tackles for loss (12) since 2022. He's in that club alongside three other first-team All-Pros: Kyle Hamilton, Derwin James and Antoine Winfield Jr. Watson is a steady No. 2 corner whose 74.1 Pro Football Focus defensive grade ranked 18th in the NFL among qualified cornerbacks.
Los Angeles' second "all in" push of the 2020's, headlined by the acquisition of Garrett to bolster their defense as the NFL's No. 1 pass rush closer in tandem with a revamped cornerback position, is exactly what the Rams needed to do to hoist another Vince Lombardi trophy at SoFi Stadium at the end of the coming 2026 season.
