PFF: Top 101 players of 2021 (7 Rams)

Via PFF.

2. DL Aaron Donald, Los Angeles Rams
2021 Snaps: 1,261 | 2021 PFF Grade: 93.5

Donald has been the top-ranked player on this list in four of the last six seasons, and he almost made it once again. Including the postseason, Donald once again topped 100 pressures, accomplishing that feat in four of the last five seasons. What is perhaps most impressive about his performance this season is that he played over 1,000 snaps in the regular season and actually registered the most snaps PFF has recorded from an interior defensive lineman over a season. Donald still pressured quarterbacks at an elite level despite being asked to endure a historically high workload.

3. WR Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams
2021 Snaps: 1,301 | 2021 PFF Grade: 93.0

Kupp is both a phenomenal receiver and the beneficiary of the kind of deployment that makes it almost impossible for an opposing defense to take him out of the game. He lined up in the slot on 65.5% of his snaps, generating 1,402 yards from that inside alignment alone in the regular season. Kupp gained 3.45 yards for every route run from the slot, as that alignment makes it very difficult for defenses to just defend him with their best corner or play aggressive man coverage.

24. EDGE Von Miller, Los Angeles Rams
2021 Snaps: 939 | 2021 PFF Grade: 91.2

It once looked as if Miller’s star had started to fade, but a trade to Los Angeles and the chance of another Super Bowl reinvigorated him. Against Tampa Bay in the playoffs, Miller notched his first double-digit pressure game since Week 8 of 2019, and he showed that he still has some gas left in the tank. His perennial dominance against the run has stayed intact, and while he might not generate a league-leading rate of pressure in the future, he can still be extremely effective in that area.

29. CB Jalen Ramsey, Los Angeles Rams
2021 Snaps: 1,269 | 2021 PFF Grade: 84.4

Ramsey played a new role within the Rams defense this season, lining up in the slot or in the box on 42.7% of his snaps compared to just 23.6% the season before. The star cornerback responded with his best season since that incredible year in 2017, racking up 14 pass breakups and a career-high 26 defensive stops. Ramsey is an elite playmaker, and his new role puts him at the heart of the action more often.

43. QB Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
2021 Snaps: 1,343 | 2021 PFF Grade: 86.1

Matthew Stafford in Los Angeles was a lot like Matthew Stafford in Detroit for most of the season, but the results were better because of everything around him. However, once the playoffs began, his game went to a different level. Other than Josh Allen, Stafford was the best-graded playoff quarterback and made big plays late in the Super Bowl to execute another signature game-winning drive and cap off his first season in L.A. with a ring.

53. T Rob Havenstein, Los Angeles Rams
2021 Snaps: 1,236 | 2021 PFF Grade: 83.4

Completing a run of right tackles, Havenstein finished his season with a Super Bowl ring. He was outstanding as a run-blocker this year, posting his third excellent grade in that area in four seasons. As a pass-blocker, he allowed 31 pressures across 763 pass-blocking snaps and was excellent in the Rams' victory over the Bengals to close the campaign.

97. C Brian Allen, Los Angeles Rams
2021 Snaps: 1,181 | 2021 PFF Grade: 74.8

Allen got to end his season with a Super Bowl win, helping the Rams to overcome the Bengals in the big game. Allen allowed 25 pressures over the season when including the playoffs and earned a 79.5 PFF run-blocking grade.