The Los Angeles Rams defense went from one of the worst in the league early in the season to one of the best by the end of it.
While L.A. allowed the 17th-most points per game in 2025, the Rams didn’t allow more than nine points in three of the team’s final four games (the fourth game being a meaningless Week 18 matchup where all the starters were benched.
Between 2024 first-rounder Jared Verse winning Defensive Rookie of the Year and defensive coordinator Chris Shula putting on master-class performances, the Rams defense could turn into a juggernaut in 2025.
However, Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport writes that despite the Rams’ late-season defensive rise, they still aren’t a top-10 unite. Davenport ranked the Rams No. 14 because of the uncertainty of the team’s linebackers and secondary.
“The Rams have a young front-seven that includes Verse, Byron Young and Braden Fiske that is the foundation of the defense,” he wrote. “The cornerbacks in Los Angeles are the defense’s clear weakness—there’s a reason the Rams are mentioned so often in Jalen Ramsey rumors. The starting linebackers aren’t world-beaters, either.
“But this is a team well-equipped to win in the trenches. And winning in the trenches wins football games.”
The issues are sound, as the same secondary that ranked 26th in passing touchdowns allowed and 20th in passing yards allow in 2024 returned this season. The linebackers are a bit different with Omar Speights set to start and Nate Landman, Troy Reeder and 2025 fifth-rounder Chris Paul Jr. battling out for the second inside linebacker job, but those four don’t inspire much confidence either.
The Rams could make some alterations in the months leading up to Week 1. Ramsey is the biggest name on the table, but there are other cornerbacks and linebackers on the trade block L.A. could add for reasonable prices if that’s the direction Les Snead and Sean McVay want to go.
For now, the Rams defense remains a work-in-progress that is developing nicely.
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