Rams revamped roster from Super Bowl loss 3 years ago has depth, not just superstars | PFT on Yahoo Sports
Mike Florio and Peter King discuss how the Rams are a much different team than they were during their last Super Bowl appearance three years ago.
Video Transcript
[INTRO MUSIC]
MIKE FLORIO: Time now for "PFT" on Yahoo Sports. Peter King, Mike Florio, the big stories in the National Football League. And obviously, the Super Bowl, if you have heard of it, is one of the biggest stories right now. The LA Rams, three years after they lost to the Patriots 13-3, they are back, but with a very different team, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Jared Goff, long gone. Todd Gurley, out of the league. Matthew Stafford, on the one-year anniversary of the unofficial trade that brought him from Detroit to LA, he punches the ticket for the Rams to the Super Bowl that will be played in LA.
Peter, amazing that the Rams have changed out where they needed to change out and developed a team that is even more elite than the one that we saw when they made it the Super Bowl three years ago.
PETER KING: Yeah Mike, I think one of the misleading things about the Rams is everybody thinks that, essentially, they are a team of stars plucked from all over the league. Obviously, Jalen Ramsey, Matthew Stafford, Odell Beckham, Von Miller. But as Kevin Demoff, the COO and President of the team, told me after the game on Sunday night, that look, we have got a very deep roster of prospects. They're just not first-rounders. And I think that's a really interesting point. I mean, he told me-- I went back and checked, he's correct-- that since Sean McVay took over as coach and started working with Demoff and Les Snead, the Rams have the second-most draft choices of any team in the NFL. They're just not in the first round. I think if you look at exactly who they have sort of as the backbone of this team, you see guys like Nick Scott, who's drafted in the seventh round, but has come in, especially in the playoffs, and has shown himself to be an above-average NFL starter at safety.
So I think that is what interests me in this team-- the guys beneath the surface, so many of whom are playing well.
MIKE FLORIO: And one guy who is on the surface who is a homegrown product, and that is Cooper Kupp, who was a third-round pick, who's become one of the best players in all of the NFL. And then you've got their cornerstone defensively, Aaron Donald, who's been there since 2014, when he was a first-round pick. And when you go back and look at the teams that can regret passing on Aaron Donald, there are plenty, including the Rams, Peter, who passed on him with the second overall pick, taking Greg Robinson, and then getting him with their other second round pick, one of the leftovers. One of the two was a leftover from the RG3 deal.
PETER KING: You know, Aaron Donald, the other day, you can just see the hold he has on this team, and not just on the defensive team, but all over the roster. And I just think back, Mike, I think back to my time in training camp where I see Aaron Donald in the midst of 11 on 11 scrimmage, after one play, going up and hugging Matthew Stafford and saying, "Man, I'm so glad you're here." And after that practice that day, Stafford said to me, "Do you know what that means? Do you know how good that feels, when Aaron Donald is really in your corner/"
So look, I kind of like the Rams' depth. I love this game. I think it's a great match-up.
MIKE FLORIO: Nothing against Jared Goff, but we're so glad that Matthew Stafford is here. All right, that's it for now. Thanks, as always, for joining us. We'll see you next time.
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