LA Rams: Projecting the final 53 man Rams roster for 2021

The LA Rams stand at the precipice of the final roster cuts. It’s the moment when 53 players circle the wagons, and the 27 teammates who have shared OTAs, training camp, practice fields, preseason games, laughter, and tears are asked to get off the bus. It’s the nature of professional sports, a gathering of far more hopefuls than success stories. Perhaps that’s why those who make it are so admired. They inherit the dreams and aspirations of those who do not.

For months the LA Rams have instructed, drilled, performed, assessed, and analyzed players. It’s a standard process each season, but with an entirely new team with new strengths, weaknesses, and potential. They’ve taken copious notes, had lengthy conversations, and have ensured that if there was a lack of meaningful data, that the positional coaches would ensure that data became available.

To say that the LA Rams are good at what they do is a vast understatement. This is a team that builds successful NFL teams on the unique formula of grabbing the best talent in the NFL at several key positions and then backfilling the remainder of the roster with young talented prospects who can learn from their elite leaders. It’s not an easy ledge to navigate. Too much youth and the team will plummet into insignificance due to inconsistency. Too much elite and the window closes rapidly due to no free funds.

And through it all, the Rams must retain enough good to very good veteran competency to insulate the team from untimely injuries, a bad game, or simply to ensure that the best players are not tasked with doing it all. All the while, the Rams do so with one of the youngest rosters in professional football. Whether young or seasoned, players will be expected to contribute to the best of their ability. The NFL is, in fact, a team sport.