The top-20 L.A. Rams: Where they rank and who is standing out in training camp

We are getting close to the end of the first week of L.A. Rams training camp and already we’ve heard some surprises in the early going. Notes from Sean McVay and company that would impact the full top-20 list that I just posted on Turf Show Times.

How do those training camp notes and standouts impact the Top-20 most important Rams for 2022?

I explain in a quick episode of the Turf Show Times podcast on Thursday. Make sure to HIT SUBSCRIBE to Turf Show Times on your podcast apps—I just tested it out on my own and trust me, it works! We will bring you non-stop podcast coverage of the 2022 Rams.

But I will also give you the full top-20 and more notes here below. Then tell me what I got wrong in the comments below.

First one out - CB Robert Rochell

Rochell has been cited as one of the offseason standouts by Sean McVay. Either he or Derion Kendrick could be great bets to move up this list in 2023.

#20 - QB John Wolford

The addition of Luis Perez and another preseason of Bryce Perkins shouldn’t do anything to impact Wolford’s place as the next man up after Stafford.

#19 - CB Troy Hill

McVay mentioned how Hill’s experience in Brandon Staley’s defense in 2020 made him a no-brainer to bring back for Raheem Morris’s defense in 2022. He’s had multiple “picks” in training camp, though passing stats do not matter in practice.

#18 - C Brian Allen

Fans voted Allen to be much higher on their top-20 list than my own. Will Allen earn his way into playing his entire three-year contract?

#17 - ILB Ernest Jones

Gregg Rosenthal has noted Jones multiple times as a breakout candidate in 2022. Jones is excited to get to learn from Bobby Wagner this year.

#16 - WR Van Jefferson

The ascent of Tutu Atwell this offseason could lead to the descent of Jefferson off of this list if he doesn’t become a better all-around receiver in 2022.

#15 - S Jordan Fuller

McVay hasn’t placed much of an emphasis on the safety position and Fuller was the only one to make my top-20, though some fans thought Nick Scott deserved a place. First, Scott will need to beat Taylor Rapp and others out to start next to Fuller, who is returning from his 2021 injury. Except now those “green dot” duties that he had for one season will be going to Wagner.

#14 - LG David Edwards

Rams fans seem mixed on whether Edwards is worth a second contract in 2023. Will he become a $10 million per year player when he hits the open market?

#13 - RB Cam Akers

Allen was one of the early risers on the list, but Akers was the biggest riser. Fans think of him like more of a top-eight player on the Rams’ top-20 and I couldn’t be happier to see it. Running backs do matter and no back on L.A.’s roster is as complete as Akers.

#12 - DT Greg Gaines

The greatest test of “The Aaron Donald Effect” yet. Will Gaines be the next John Franklin-Myers if the Rams let him leave in free agency next year?

#11 - RT Rob Havenstein

Havenstein’s value goes deeper than how he plays on Sundays, though he remains good at that too. It’s more that he’s got that “longest-tenured offensive player” tag and is setting an example for so many young offensive linemen now that Andrew Whitworth is no longer wearing pads.

#10 - DL A’Shawn Robinson

Robinson would have been nowhere near the top-10 last offseason. But after the year he just had, the 27-year-old could be gearing up for an even bigger contract when he’s next up for negotiation.

#9 - TE Tyler Higbee

McVay can’t quit Higbee and we know nothing of his backups other than they couldn’t see the field during the regular season. I’m not saying that won’t change, I’m only going off of what we know based on the past two years.

#8 - ILB Bobby Wagner

Wagner won’t be the same player he was during his All-Pro seasons, but he could be a better player than he was in 2021 now that he’s playing behind Aaron Donald and under less pressure to be “the man.”

#7 - WR Allen Robinson II

Nobody has had a better first week at Rams camp. Two receivers with 1,200+ yards this season? It seems likely, if they are both healthy.

#6 - OLB Leonard Floyd

He’s always kind of overlooked, but maybe with good reason. Floyd had the second-most “unblocked sacks” in 2021, with five. He does a lot of things right though and there’s nobody else to rely on for edge rushing pressure, though Floyd’s talked up Terrell Lewis already.

#5 - LT Joe Noteboom

It’s quite the ascent for Noteboom, who would have been lucky to crack the top-20 as a reserve last offseason. However, he’s now in this position and the Rams have given him a contract worthy of being Stafford’s blindside protector. Plus, who would McVay turn to if Noteboom gets injured? He needs to be healthy and he needs to play as well as he has in place of Whitworth in the past.

#4 - CB Jalen Ramsey

No better cornerback in the last six years. But what is McVay’s plan for 2024 and later at cornerback? The hope is that Rochell or Kendrick or someone else proves to be more than an adequate number two. L.A. needs a realistic number one heir apparent.

#3 - WR Cooper Kupp

I expect another dominant season by Kupp. If teams couldn’t stop him in the playoffs, when are they going to be able to stop him? He won’t hit 2,000 yards, but 1,500 should be in reach.

#2 - DT Aaron Donald

You couldn’t write a character for a movie who is as dominant as AD actually is, it would seem too goofy. He’s better than your wildest fantasy.

#1 - QB Matthew Stafford

Even though Wolford is number 20 on the list, I can’t imagine that the Rams compete to go deep in the playoffs without Stafford as the quarterback. Perhaps by some stretch they could survive any other loss, but the pre-Stafford McVay era told us a lot about the quarterback position, all of which is pretty standard: Ya gotta have a great quarterback.

Don’t forget to listen to today’s podcast, as well as yesterday’s with JB Scott in which we give our “last five in” lists for players on the backend of the Rams roster. Subscribe to Turf Show Times on your podcast apps, we will be giving you Rams content all year long that is second to no other show!