Aaron Donald makes All-Pro team in return to NFL and 2 other Rams bold predictions for 2026 NFL season

The Los Angeles Rams enter 2026 as legitimate Super Bowl favorites after Aaron Donald ended his two-and-a-half-year retirement to rejoin a defense that already added reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett via trade in June. Head coach Sean McVay now has an offense fueled by reigning NFL MVP Matthew Stafford and a defensive front that pairs two of the most dominant pass rushers of their era. Here are three bold predictions for how this loaded roster’s 2026 season unfolds.

Aaron Donald Earns All-Pro Honors at Age 35

Donald signed a one-year, $20 million deal that can max out at $30 million with incentives, and he last suited up in 2023 posting eight sacks, 16 tackles for loss and 23 quarterback hits while still earning first-team All-Pro honors. Between 2014 and 2023, Donald produced 119 more total pressures than any other defender in the league, a gap so wide it underscores how much gas may still be left in his tank even at 35. He posted a 90-plus PFF defensive grade in every single season of his career, a level of sustained excellence almost unmatched at his position.

Pairing him alongside Garrett, who ranks first among active pass rushers in pressures since 2017 with Donald second despite two years of inactivity, should mean fewer double teams and cleaner rushing lanes for both. If Donald reaches even 70 percent of his career pressure rate playing a reduced but focused snap share, voters will have little choice but to name him first-team All-Pro yet again. That outcome would make him the oldest defensive tackle to earn the honor in franchise history and validate one of the boldest reclamation projects in recent memory.

Puka Nacua Leads the NFL in Receiving Yards

Nacua caught an NFL-leading 129 passes for 1,715 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2025, finishing second in the league in receiving yards and recording 80 first-down receptions, the most in the NFL. He also posted a league-leading yards-per-route-run mark of 3.80, proving his production wasn’t just a byproduct of high volume but elite per-target efficiency. Stafford, coming off an MVP season in which he led the NFL with 4,707 passing yards and a career-high 46 touchdowns, gives Nacua the best quarterback play of his career to work with entering a fully healthy season.

Nacua has cleared 100 receiving yards per game in each of his three professional seasons, a level of week-to-week consistency few receivers in the league can match. With Stafford’s volume and accuracy holding steady and no reason to expect a dip in target share, Nacua is squarely positioned to finally claim the receiving yards crown that eluded him by just 78 yards a season ago.

Rams Reach Super Bowl LXI

Los Angeles reached the playoffs in 2025 behind Stafford’s MVP campaign and advanced with a 37-20 win over Arizona, with Stafford throwing for 259 yards and four touchdowns in that game alone. Stafford’s 7.7 percent touchdown rate and 109.2 passer rating last season both ranked among the best marks by any quarterback in franchise history, giving McVay’s offense a foundation that few contenders can match. Now pairing that with a defensive line boasting two former Defensive Players of the Year, LA’s ceiling looks higher than any Rams roster since their 2021 title run.

Garrett and Donald have combined for five Defensive Player of the Year awards and 236.5 career sacks between them, an unprecedented pairing that should make life miserable for opposing quarterbacks all season. If Stafford stays healthy and the revamped defense holds up as advertised, the Rams have the roster construction to reach Super Bowl LXI, giving McVay his second championship appearance since the 2021 season.

These three storylines, Donald’s comeback validation, Nacua’s continued ascension, and a deep playoff run, are all interconnected bets on health and continuity holding across 17 games. If Los Angeles avoids major injuries, especially on a defensive line now carrying significant age and mileage, 2026 could mark the peak of this era of Rams football.

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