NFL analyst projects LA Rams as sub-par in latest NFL Power Rankings

With the end of another NFL Draft, and the dawn of a new NFL football season, you know what comes next. Well, besides OTAs, training camp, and the rest of official NFL activities needed to prepare players for another year of professional football competition. I'm referring to the inevitable over-hyped projections of rookie talent into the NFL final records, also known as the NFL Post-Draft Power Rankings.

And here they come, right on schedule.

Of course, it's a shot-in-the-dark attempt by NFL.com's Lead Draft Writer Eric Edholm to assess the standing of 32 NFL teams after they have completed their task of reinforcing their respective rosters by drafting rookie prospects from the 2024 NFL Draft.

The odd part of all of this is the simple matter that the write ups and the history do not really align with the fit and talent level of new blood gained for each team via the draft. And then, to make matters even more divergent from where logic may project teams, there is the no mention of how coaching impacts the overall projection for the teams.

The truth is that the LA Rams, armed with a couple of rubber bands, some popsicle sticks, and a roll of pennies, manufactured a roster in 2023 that was capable of going on a 7-1 run to close out last season and catapult that team into the 2024 NFL Playoffs. This season, the same front office was armed with gears and belts, Tungsten steel, and a brinks truck filled with spendable salary cap dollars and draft picks. And yet, the team is projected to drop in the final record?

Yes, I know that the team just lost The Great One, defensive lineman Aaron Donald. But even with the help of Donald, the Rams defense was not dominant. The Rams defense finished 19th in points allowed in 2023. With additions in free agency and now after the 2024 NFL Draft, expect the team to finish better in points allowed, which means fewer than 22.2 points per game.

So, let's run down the entire NFC West Division in terms of 2024 Power Rankings and see how closely they may have (not) come to what logically should happen: