With the 2025 season almost over, it’s time to reflect on what happened this year and visualize who the best players in the NFL will be for the upcoming season in 2026.
Sports Illustrated’s Gilberto Manzano predicted the top-100 players for 2026, based on this past season and also forecasting what’s to come in the NFL. The list was released in three parts, culminating in a top-10 that features the league’s best overall players.
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The Los Angeles Rams had one member on each list: Edge rusher Jared Verse (No. 69), quarterback Matthew Stafford (No. 14) and receiver Puka Nacua (No. 4). This is more or less reflective of the hierarchy of the Rams’ stardom, too, but it’s a little surprising to see just three players from one of the four best teams in the league.
Here’s Manzano’s rationale for each:
No. 69: OLB Jared Verse
Verse didn’t have as many impact plays as he did in his dominant rookie year. But his presence allowed edge rusher Byron Young to have a breakout year with 12 sacks, which also took pressure from a suspect secondary. Eventually, Verse will need to increase his sack total to meet his high potential, but there’s no denying the stress he adds to opposing offenses. He had 7.5 sacks and 27 QB hits in 2025.
No. 15. QB Matthew Stafford
I might be in the minority when saying that Stafford’s age isn’t a problem. It’s become somewhat of an offseason tradition to figure out when the Rams are going to move on from the 37-year-old quarterback, but it might be foolish to do it after a career year that could end with his first MVP award. Perhaps the Rams draft a young quarterback and have him wait behind Stafford for a few more years. Until I see some regression, Stafford is a top-five quarterback in my book. He completed 65% of his passes for a league-high 4,707 yards and 46 touchdowns, and had only eight interceptions.
No. 4: WR Puka Nacua
I still laugh at Rams coach Sean McVay shouting at reporters to remind them that Nacua “went off today” after a 225-yard performance against the Seahawks. McVay was a bit blindsided about the questions regarding Nacua’s immature actions with a few knucklehead streamers days before the thrilling Week 16 battle in Seattle. Eventually, McVay collected himself and addressed the situation. Still, it shows you how special a player Nacua has become in three seasons that his coach had a hard time putting aside one of the best performances of the season. If Nacua can avoid the streamers, he’ll continue to ascend as one of the most versatile playmakers in the league. He’s not afraid to block, often puts his body on the line to catch everything in sight, and is even capable of making plays from the backfield. Nacua set career highs in receptions (129), receiving yards (1,715) and touchdowns (10).
Verse and Nacua make sense — they’re both young stars who have quickly emerged as top players in their respective positions. Stafford’s placement is also relatively accurate, as he could win MVP in his 17th season and is still clearly playing at a high level.
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But it’s a bit of a surprise to see players like running back Kyren Williams and defensive tackle Kobie Turner not crack the top 100 list. Williams made the NFL’s annual top-100 list two consecutive seasons and is coming off his third straight 1,100-yard, 10-touchdown season. Turner is less well known, but is still considered one of the best young defensive tackles in the league.
These are predictions, though, so the Rams could very easily add more players to a top-100 list in the future depending on how the 2026 season goes. We’re still far away from that, though.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: 3 Rams make SI’s top-100 NFL players list
