ESPN has projected the full season stats for the Los Angeles Rams' defensive players in 2026. The team expects improvements with new cornerbacks Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson, while the rest of the defense remains largely unchanged.
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The Los Angeles Rams went the cheap route on defense last year, relying on young players and lesser-known veterans like Nate Landman. It unfortunately cost them in the playoffs, but the unit should be much better in 2026 thanks to the additions of Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson at cornerback.
Other than that, the defense is mostly unchanged.
ESPN's Mike Clay provided individual stat projections for the Rams' top players on defense, and they're not terribly dissimilar to last year's.
To view Clay's offensive projections, click here.
ESPN's Mike Clay provided individual stat projections for the Rams' top defensive players, which are similar to last year's.
The Rams added Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson as new cornerbacks for the 2026 season.
The Rams relied on young players and lesser-known veterans, which negatively impacted their playoff performance.
The defense remains mostly unchanged, with the addition of new cornerbacks McDuffie and Watson being the primary change.
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Turner, Fiske and Ford are all projected to have solid seasons in the 40-tackle and 3-5 sack range. Davis could be someone poised to make a big jump in 2026 as the fourth defensive lineman after performing well last season in the rotation with the three starters.
Hamilton's spot on the roster is not yet secured so he'll need to impress in camp.
These projections would be a step back for Young, who had 12 sacks and 82 tackles last season. However, they're right on par with Verse's 2025 campaign, when he had 58 tackles and 7.5 sacks. Stewart and Johnson are the top backups behind Verse and Young, though it could be Stewart taking a major leap forward this coming season.
The Rams didn't make any additions at linebacker this offseason besides Grant Stuard, but Clay clearly sees him as more of a special teams contributor than a defender. Landman and Speights should remain the top two linebackers, with Dolac rotating in as the third option and injury replacement.
McDuffie and Watson are the newcomers in this group and they're both projected to be heavily involved on defense, alongside Lake in the slot and at safety. There's a lot of versatility with this group, with the exception of Watson and Forbes, who primarily play outside.
Clay did not provide projections for Josh Wallace, who's expected to be a depth piece again.
The Rams wisely brought Curl back as a free agent, keeping their same safety group with Kinchens and McCollough also in the picture. Curl and Kinchens are basically interchangeable, while McCollough is a quality dime backer in sub-packages.
Mevis looks like the Rams' kicker for 2026 after the team didn't make any other additions there this offseason. The same goes for Evans at punter, despite having a rough season last year.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Rams 2026 season: ESPN projects full stats for LA's defenders