The Los Angeles Rams weren’t quiet to kick off the 2026 offseason. General manager Les Snead and head coach Sean McVay made some huge moves this week, including trading for and extending cornerback Trent McDuffie, extending safety Kam Curl and signing cornerback Jaylen Watson.
While the team was already considered one of the best in the NFL heading into the 2026 offseason, a new stat shows that the Rams are also one of the most-improved teams after the first big wave of free agency. Per Kevin Cole of Unexpected Points, L.A. ranked fourth on the 2026 Improvement Index, which is a points-based scale that shows NFL plus/minus movement based on roster moves and draft capital.
Per Cole, “the model behind the Improvement Index projects the numbers of snaps and per-play efficiency for each player in every facet of offensive and defensive play: passing, rushing, receiving, blocking, pass rush, run defense and coverage. These models were trained on years of historical data, going back to 2006.”
Only the Cleveland Browns, New York Jets and Tennessee Titans ranked higher through March 11.
This isn’t a huge surprise given the Rams added some big pieces and didn’t really lose anyone that important, either. The additions of McDuffie and Watson mean that the team’s own free agents like Cobie Durant, Akhello Witherspoon and Roger McCreary are likely to leave, but this index shows that the new duo are actually better than the trio that might not return.
Snead essentially telegraphed this idea before free agency began, and now he’s living up to his word to go all-in on another Matthew Stafford and address the weakest position on the team — secondary. While the Rams did have to give up some draft capital to get McDuffie, the trade package only included the No. 29 pick and two Day 3 picks in 2026 (the other was a 2027 third-rounder).
The Rams will still likely make some more moves before April’s draft, but this is shaping up to be another winning offseason for Snead and McVay already.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Rams ranked among top-5 most-improved teams so far in 2026
Reporting by Oliver G., Rams Wire / Rams Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
