Mike Florio takes a brutally honest shot at Rams in preseason power rankings

The Los Angeles Rams are three years removed from winning Super Bowl LVI over the Cincinnati Bengals. The following year they faltered, suffering a Super Bowl hangover and winning just five games. This past season, however, they bounced back in a big way and made the playoffs when not many people expected them to.

While the Rams are coming off a strong year, there's reason to believe they might not replicate that success in 2024. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk ranked every team before training camp kicks off and put the Rams at 13th on his list.

"13. Rams: They overachieved last year, and Aaron Donald is gone. This year could entail a step backward."

- Mike Florio

I know people like to dunk on Florio for his takes but he does make good points here. The Rams were coming off a putrid 2022 season and looked left for dead early on in 2023 before they hit their stride and ultimately made the postseason.

Aaron Donald retiring is going to hit the defense hard and while the Rams got a first-round steal in Jared Verse, is that going to be enough to fill Donald's void?

Is Mike Florio right about the Rams?

We obviously don't know how the 2024 season is going to pan out for the Rams but if we see the team that balled out in the back half of last season, it could be another special year for them. If, however, the loss of Donald is too much for them to overcome, then perhaps the defense will struggle and the offense will have to carry things.

The good news is that Sean McVay is one of the best coaches in the league and should have this team in a great position to win games. Yes, the defense will take a hit without future Hall of Famer Aaron Donald but things could be much, much worse.

Even with Donald retiring, Florio still put the Rams in the top half of his rankings, which is a testament to how rock solid McVay's unit is.