Executives' Decision: Rams Are Team to Beat in NFC

Despite some championship-worthy losses, the competition believes that the Rams are ready for another Super Bowl stampede.

Mark J. Rebilas, USA TODAY Sports

A gang of five NFL executives polled by The Athletic is feeling high on those who play at SoFi.

The defending champion Los Angeles Rams nearly swept the anonymous group's top spots, as four of the five placed them atop of their NFC rankings heading into the 2022-23 season. The outlier, favoring the Green Bay Packers, placed the Rams in the runner-up spot, giving them an average ranking of 1.2. 

Though the Rams made their run to Super Bowl LVI as the NFC's fourth seed, it appears that they won't be sneaking up on anyone this time around. Los Angeles will go into the new year seeking its fifth 10-win season in its last six tries, a job made all the easier because, as one exec puts it: "Their offense is going to score — it's obvious they have playmakers." 

To their point, the Rams tied for seventh (ironically with their Super Bowl competition from Cincinnati) at 27.1 points per game last season. There's a good chance they can expand on that number with Tyler Higbee, Van Jefferson, Cooper Kupp, and Matthew Stafford all returning and Allen Robinson, formerly of Chicago, joining the fold. Defensively, Super Bowl MVP Aaron Donald is back for another go with Leonard Floyd. They're joined by former divisional foe Bobby Wagner, who provides enough insurance for the execs to comfortably situation the Rams as the top dogs of the conference.

"Injuries on defense might be the thing that could derail them," they note. "But when you look at their older guys ... those guys never miss games." 

Both Donald and Floyd last missed a game due to injury in 2017 while Wagner has lost only two games since 2015. 

If there's a modicum of doubt that perhaps prevented the Rams from sweeping the No. 1 seeds, it stems from losing pass rusher Von Miller (now with Week 1 opponent Buffalo) and retired offensive line anchor Andrew Whitworth. Veteran Joe Noteboom has currently been called up to fill the Whitworth-sized hole on the offensive line. 

With Los Angeles and Green Bay topping the list, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers slide in the third spot while the Rams' NFC West rivals from San Francisco round out the top four. Other playoff teams based upon the top seven of the rankings include Philadelphia, Dallas, and Arizona. The aforementioned Buffalo Bills topped the AFC edition, as the respective No. 1's will do battle next Thursday night at SoFi Stadium (5:20 p.m. PT, NBC). 

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Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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