Advanced model updates Rams' projected win total

A year after moving to Los Angeles, the Rams found an exciting young head coach to lead their franchise and in the three years since Sean McVay took over, they're now 33-15. However, after making Super Bowl 53 and bringing back almost their entire core in 2019, the Rams struggled to a 9-7 record and missed the postseason.

This offseason, a salary cap crunch kept the Rams from being significant players in NFL free agency. However, they did manage to bring in former first-round picks A'Shawn Robinson and Leonard Floyd to help bolster their defensive front seven and then looked to the 2020 NFL Draft to help plug some of the holes created by the exits of established presences like Dante Fowler Jr., Corey Littleton and Todd Gurley.

Which 2020 NFL win totals are way off? ... See every projected win total, including a shocking prediction for the Bears, all from a proven projection model that crushed its NFL win total picks last year!

The Rams used their two second-round picks to give McVay and quarterback Jared Goff a pair of dynamic new toys by drafting Florida State running back Cam Akers and Florida wide receiver Van Jefferson. In the third round, they added two defenders wit upside by selecting Alabama edge rusher Terrell Lewis and Utah safety Terrell Burgess.

On Day Three, the Rams used their five picks to add depth at tight end, linebacker, safety and guard and also drafted Miami (OH) kicker Sam Sloman as Greg Zuerlein's replacement. And if the Rams personnel department got some of these selections correct, they should still have an offense capable of scoring against just about anybody and a defense that can generate some pressure.

But have they done anything to make up ground on the 49ers who became the new "It" team in the NFC West last season? And can they rise above a consistently successful franchise like the Seahawks and a Cardinals team that is coming off an incredibly aggressive offseason?

The SportsLine Projection Model predicts that the Rams win an average of 7.6 games in the computer's 10,000 simulations of the 2020 NFL season, down from 8.1 projected wins prior to the 2020 NFL Draft. Los Angeles wins the division 9.2 percent of the time and makes the playoffs 32.8 percent of the time. The Rams are also currently 28-1 to Win Super Bowl 55 according to William Hill, which is tied for 15th-best odds in the NFL.