The Los Angeles Rams have officially hit the midpoint of the 2026 NFL season with plenty of reasons to feel encouraged, but also several areas that need improvement if they intend to make a legitimate Super Bowl run. With 9 games under their belt, there is plenty of data and eye test to evaluate the current roster. Sean McVay’s team has demonstrated the ability to compete with the league’s best, fueled by a strong running game, Puka Nacua’s yearly dominance, and a defense capable of shutting offenses
down. However, inconsistency, injuries, and questions surrounding the supporting cast have prevented this team from reaching its full potential. With the second half of the season approaching, it’s time to evaluate how the Rams have performed across the board. From quarterback play and offensive production to defensive consistency, special teams, and coaching, here’s a midseason report card for Los Angeles.
2026 Mid-season Grades
Matthew Stafford: B-
Stafford’s 2026 season has been much different than his 2025 MVP campaign. This time last year, he was on an absolute heater. The story has been quite different in 2026 as he at one point had four consecutive 300+ yard passing games but as followed that up with four consecutive games of less than 250 yards passing.
The reckless version of Stafford has been more prevalent as seen by his 9 interceptions which exceeds his 8 total interceptions in 2025. Stafford has been better as of late (last 5 games), throwing 10 touchdowns to 3 interceptions.
Lastly, there is concern for Stafford’s elbow. Reports have suggested that he is nursing an elbow injury which is likely causing is air yards/attempt to be significantly less this year.
Stafford is still having a “good” year but its a far cry from last season’s pace. He is projected to finish with 4484 yards, 30 touchdowns, and 17 interceptions.
Kyren Williams & Blake Corum: A+
The Rams offense has been saved by the strong run game of Kyren Williams and Blake Corum. The two running backs have combined for 1040 rushing yards, 10 rushing touchdowns, 357 receiving yards, and 2 receiving touchdowns. They are producing when the team has needed it most.
Expect Sean McVay to lean into both running backs in these next eight games with the passing game still trying to find its way.
Puka Nacua: A+
Year in, year out, Puka Nacua does his thing. In seven games active, Puka Nacua has produced 715 receiving yards (102.1 yards/game). The only other wide receiver in the NFL averaging more receiving yards per game is Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Other WRs: D+
Apart from Davante Adams in Weeks 2 & 3, the Rams other wide receivers have been non-existant.
Konata Mumpfield, Tutu Atwell, and Jordan Whittington have combined for 273 yards and 1 touchdown. That’s 30 receiving yards/game amongst 3 players. It’s simply not good enough. Here’s the worst part – this group has only accounted for 12 of the team’s 122 first downs.
With Davante Adams having missed the last 3 games and Puka Nacua nursing a knee injury, the Rams NEED more from this group.
Tight ends: C+
This is a tough group to grade because Terrance Ferguson has missed 5 games. Colby Parkinson has missed 2 games. This group provides so much value in the run game which is excelling.
In the passing game, it’s been lukewarm at best. Tyler Higbee had a solid three game stretch from Weeks 3-5 but has been largely quiet since then. Davis Allen had a two touchdown game against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Offensive Line: A-
The Rams have been very fortunate in 2026 with their offensive line health through 9 games but now await the news of Steve Avila who reaggravated his hamstring.
Coleman Shelton has been a rock at center and easily the Rams best offensive lineman. Alaric Jackson has been great aside from his Week 5 postgame antics which resulted in him missing Week 6 which turned out to be a loss to Arizona.
Defensive Line: B
The Rams were able to “coerce” Aaron Donald out of retirement. AD99 did miss the Week 1 loss vs San Francisco and the Week 4 win at Philadelphia but has become more of his usual self in recent weeks. Donald is blowing up run plays and causing offensive lines a headache with his interior pressure which frees up Garrett and Co. opportunities on the outside.
The disappointment for the defensive line has been the original starters as Kobie Turner (IR, 0 sacks in 6 games), Braden Fiske (1.5 sacks in 9 games), Poona Ford (out for season) have not been more effective with the return of Aaron Donald.
Tyler Davis, Larrell Murchison, and Ty Hamilton have done an admirable job of holding down the fort.
Edge Rushers: B
Myles Garrett was traded to be the upgrade over Jared Verse but he’s only played in 2 of the team’s 9 games. Finally, against Washington we saw why the Rams made the blockbuster deal for the reigning defensive player of the year.
Despite not having Garrett’s presence, I have been encouraged by the ascension of undrafted free agent Wesley Bailey. Bailey has 2 sacks, 2 tackles for loss, and 2 forced fumbles in his rookie season.
Byron Young leads the team in sacks with 4.5 while he tries to put up a strong season in a contract year. The return of Myles Garrett should free him up significantly to win 1 on 1s.
Linebackers: B
Nate Landman is good, not great. He will occasionally show up with one of his peanut punches. The pleasant surprise has been Omar Speights who has 2 sacks, 2 pass deflections, 1 forced fumble, and 1 fumble recovery. He has been more aggressive in his tackling pursuit, something he struggled down the stretch with in 2025.
Shaun Dolac continues to be a solid rotational piece for LA.
Defensive Backs: A-
When Trent McDuffie plays, the secondary is on a different level. Problem is that McDuffie has missed 3 games in 2026 due to multiple injuries.
The addition of Jimmy Lake in the secondary has provided immediate benefit as we have seen Emmanuel Forbes, Josh Wallace, Quentin Lake, and Kam Kinchens improve on the field.
Jaylen Watson’s season-ending shoulder injury is
Special Teams: F
3 kickers (technically 4 with the addition of Joshua Karty for kickoffs) in 9 games is not normal or recommended. Harrison Mevis lost the job due to carelessness. Blake Grupe lasted half of a game due to a torn ACL. Now the team is relying on Brandon McManus. However, Sean McVay does not seem inclined to kick a field goal beyond 45 yards and rightfully so.
The team is also on their third punt returner. Xavier Smith was released after 4 games. Then Alex Bachman got a turn and the coaching staff realized (very late) that he was pretty much a non-factor. The job now belongs to Kyren Williams.
Coaching Staff: B
Sean McVay’s 13 personnel is still a strong option. But we have seen that the team would benefit from being stronger with 11 personnel when needing some tempo to find rhythm. Davante Adams’ injury has left a significant hole in the passing game and even then the team made a need another dude on the outside that can win while Puka Nacua works in the slot.
