The Los Angeles Rams were not expected to be a particularly good team in 2023 with a win total of just 6.5, and it looked like the critics may be right after a midseason injury to Matthew Stafford that caused him to miss a game and a half left the team at 3-6 entering the bye. But Stafford returned in Week 11 and the Rams went on a 6-1 run to lock up a playoff spot heading into a meaningless Week 18 game, which they won for good measure. Sean McVay's squad almost captured the essence of their season in a wild-card loss to the Lions, falling behind and then rallying back to fall just short of pulling off the upset in Detroit.

Turning to 2024, the market isn't quite fully buying into the Rams' success, with a win total of just 8.5 despite the strong finish, which also featured the team covering seven of its final eight games (including the playoffs). Much of the caution may come down to the defense losing one of the best D-lineman in history in Aaron Donald, who retired this offseason following a 10-year career that included 10 Pro Bowls, eight All-Pros, three Defensive Player of the Years and a Rookie of the Year in his first season for good measure.

Jared Verse and Braden Fiske, the Rams' top two draft picks, don't come into the league with any expectation they'll reach those lofty heights as the reinforcements for the loss of Donald up front, but they should play key roles on a young, defensive unit now led by a young, first-time defensive coordinator in Chris Shula. His job will be to get enough out of the unit that what should be a great offense can lead the team to a return trip to the playoffs in 2024.

Below, we'll go through the futures and win total markets for the 2024 Los Angeles Rams, sharing odds from major U.S. and Nevada sportsbooks as well as the SportsLine Projection Model forecast for each betting market. We'll then take a look through the schedule, share my power ratings line projections for every game and note any rest or travel advantages or disadvantages to remember. Then we'll examine the changes to the depth chart and what the effect of each could be, before wrapping up with our early forecast of what to expect from this team in 2024.

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