It’s the unofficial ranking season for the NFL, when the real news slows to an agonizing crawl and to fill the void, the writer/blogger/podcaster class fills their time with rankings of players, teams, divisions, uniforms, etc.
Pete Prisco, a longtime NFL writer over at CBS Sports, recently published his list of the top 100 players in the NFL for 2026, and the top of the list is weighted with plenty of Los Angeles Rams talent, with a couple others scattered later on.
He starts his top 100 with a pair
of Rams, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year and Most Valuable Player in that order. It’s hard to debate Myles Garrett’s spot at the top, fresh off breaking the NFL’s single-season sack record and still in the prime of his career. He’s been one of the best players in the league for the vast majority of his career, and it’s not likely that stops anytime soon.
Matthew Stafford winding up No. 2 may ruffle feathers with some fans elsewhere in the NFL, although Prisco has never been shy to do that. Ask plenty of national media members who cover the league and they’ll likely have Stafford pretty high in their own quarterback rankings, but you still regularly hear names like Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes and others at the tippy-top above him. It’s fair to think he won’t be as incredible in 2026 as he was in his 2025 MVP campaign, but despite his age and injury concerns, he just turned in the best season of his career.
He still has arguably the best coach in the league calling his offense and maybe the best supporting cast in the sport at his disposal. The argument for Stafford at No. 2 is solid, even if it’s not unanimous in league circles.
The next Ram ranked is Puka Nacua, who slots in at No. 9 and as the third-highest ranked wide receiver. There’s no denying that Nacua is one of the best players in the NFL at this point, and he obviously had a legitimate claim for Offensive Player of the Year in 2025. Ja’Marr Chase (4) and Justin Jefferson (8) are the only receivers ranked higher than Nacua, while Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who did win that aforementioned award, slots in at No. 13. That certainly won’t cause any debate.
Two more of L.A.’s players appear on Prisco’s list, with Trent McDuffie at No. 52 and Byron Young at No. 82. McDuffie was one of the biggest splash acquisitions of the offseason before the Garrett trade, and he brings an All-Pro pedigree to the Rams’ secondary. He’s the ninth defensive back (either cornerback or safety) on the list, but there’s a legitimate argument he belongs higher overall. Sauce Gardner is the next cornerback up and is 48th overall; at this point, that feels at least slightly disrespectful to McDuffie.
Young is coming off a strong 2025 in which he broke out with 12 sacks and a Pro Bowl nod in his third season as a pro. There’s a strong argument to make that he’s in line for even more production with Garrett now on the other side of the starting defensive line, so it feels right for Young to make the list.
In fact, this isn’t even the first top-100 list to feature Young this offseason.
For what it’s worth, one since-departed member of last year’s Rams roster is also on the list: Jared Verse is ranked 68th.
These rankings are always extremely subjective and are ripe for fiery debate. But for a team that’s expected to have the best roster in the league this season, it feels right to have its high-end talent recognized like this, even if you could make an argument for even more Rams to crack the top 100.
