The staff from Sports Illustrated joined their offshoot MMQB team to rank the top 10 most important players for every team in the NFC West today, and their group for the Los Angeles Rams is certainly interesting:
1. DE Aaron Donald (46 points)
T-1. RB Todd Gurley (46)
3. T Andrew Whitworth (37)
4. LB Robert Quinn (28)
5. WR Tavon Austin (20)
6. CB Trumaine Johnson (19)
7. LB Alec Ogletree (16)
8. WR Robert Woods (13)
T-9. DT Connor Barwin (9)
T-9. John Sullivan (9)Like the Cardinals’ Johnson-Mathieu clash, Los Angeles featured a two-man race to the top. Todd Gurley scored three first-place votes (Jones, Kaplan and Vrentas), with a low landing spot of No. 4 (Single); Aaron Donald took home the other two first-place votes (Feldman and Single), with a low point of No. 3 (Jones).
The voters still believe in Tavon Austin, apparently, or at least are not yet sold on the potential impact from the Rams’ rookies. Austin even cracked the top three on Feldman’s ballot, behind only the Donald-Gurley duo.
Jacob Feldman defends his third-place vote for Tavon Austin: Both Sean McVay and OC Matt LaFleur have worked with small wideouts in the past (namely Taylor Gabriel and DeSean Jackson). If they can turn Austin into something between those players, it'll do wonders for Jared Goff.
Other Rams receiving votes: LB Mark Barron (eight points), NT Michael Brockers (eight), T Rob Havenstein (five), CB EJ Gaines (four), TE Gerald Everett (three), TE Tyler Higbee (two), S Lamarcus Joyner (one), WR Cooper Kupp (one)
Let’s start out by noting that “most important” is a pretty vague term. Hard enough to craft a decent list even when you know the criteria.
I think that’s part of what makes it difficult to criticize the list overall. Having RB Todd Gurley at #2 might have made sense a year ago. Right now, I’m not sure he’s in my top 5 most “important.”
That WR Tavon Austin made the top five is perhaps more egregious. I sincerely think there’s a decent chance that by midseason, he might not even be a regular contributor to Head Coach Sean McVay’s offense. With four draftees from the past two NFL Drafts and free agent signing Robert Woods combining with the three tight ends taken in the last two NFL Drafts, there are plenty of other targets for QB Jared Goff. With McVay in year one as head coach, I can easily envision a scenario where he’s dedicated to helping his young wideouts grow with more frequent playing time than Austin. Top five seems a hell of a stretch and one based on previous teams moreso than this one.
Interesting to see the two free agents that close out the list on there without a single vote for OL Rodger Saffold or S Maurice Alexander. Perhaps though, that’s indicative of the transition underway with the new coaching staff. That new faces may be more “important” to the Rams’ season than some of the more integral and perhaps more impactful ones isn’t all that unfair.
So with a month and a half to training camp, is this list close to getting it right? Are DT Aaron Donald and RB Todd Gurley, two players who couldn’t single-handedly prevent last year’s 4-12 season, more “important” than OT Andrew Whitworth who bore no responsibility for it? Is Tavon Austin still an “important” component of the offense? And do the two Rams’ edge pass rushers both rank in the top 10?