These LA Rams rookies owned the NFL in December/January

The LA Rams 2022 NFL season ended with a record of 5-12, and to add insult to injury, the Detroit Lions benefited most by hold the LA Rams Round 1 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Despite that minor handicap, the Rams were determined to become a far more competitive team in 2023. But they unveiled a rather unorthodox method of doing so.

The Rams front office depleted the Rams roster to an unprecedentedly low number of players before entering the 2023 NFL Draft. The Rams either did not extend players on expiring contracts, cut players outright, or traded veterans away for next to nothing. By the time the LA Rams lined up to make selections in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Rams offense seemed to be hoping for a rebound from key players, but the Rams defense was cited repeatedly as 'Aaron Donald and a cast of nobodies.'

Of course, we at Ramblin Fan never lost faith. In fact, by July 2023, we were already touting solid reasons why the LA Rams would bounce back in the 2023 NFL season. But even in our optimism, we could not foresee just how special the LA Rams roster would prove to be this year.

Whether by rookies or second-year players, the Rams offense and defense sizzled in 2023. So much so that it seem especially fitting that the NFL Offensive and Defensive Rookies of the Month would be awarded to two Rams rookie standouts:

Rams WR Puka Nacua was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Month for December/January, while Rams NT Kobie Turner was named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month for December/January.

Want more good news? There are plenty more young NFL rising stars on the Rams roster.

The future of the LA Rams is bright, perhaps as bright as it has ever been. The Rams not only have elite playmakers on the roster in QB Matthew Stafford, WR Cooper Kupp, and DT Aaron Donald, but 2023 welcomed a new rookie class that is already pushing the Rams veterans hard for top billing.

At the end of 2022, I admit that I was concerned about the Rams need to find players who could take up the banner for the future. Now, that concern has vanished. If 2023 did anything for me, it proved to me that the LA Rams are indeed in very good hands. And while I may not see the path to improvement, the Rams front office already has it mapped out.