Rams Defensive Spending: You Get What You Pay For

According to data from the 2024 season, the Rams were dead last in defensive spending when compared to other teams, allocating approximately $44.2 million in cap dollars to defensive players. This was significantly lower than the next closest teams. The Chiefs spent around $75.3 million, and the Panthers spent around $66.7 million.

The Rams’ low defensive spending was noted from web sources, highlighting their strategy of relying on younger, cost-effective players – UDFAs and draft picks under rookie contracts, with only one first-round pick on defense. Drafting players and keeping them on a rookie contract is great for the salary cap, and the Rams had a great draft last year, especially on the defensive side. For the 2025 NFL draft, the Rams must continue this trend because the “F them picks” strategy is not sustainable for long-term growth.

For 2025, exact spending figures are less certain due to the lack of finalized rosters and contracts, but the Rams’ approach in 2025 suggests they may continue to rank among the lowest spenders on defense, especially given their heavy offensive investments (e.g., $178 million in 2024, the highest in NFL history).

The Rams currently rank dead last in defensive spending a $44.2M.

At 31 is the Chiefs at $75.3M. The gap between the Rams at 32 and Chiefs at 31 is the same as the Chiefs at 31 and the Ravens at 9.

— Blaine Grisak 💭 (@bgrisakTST) October 2, 2024

The Rams have 6 UDFA on defense.

1. DB Josh Wallace
2. DB Charles Woods
3. DB Jaylen McCollough
4. LB Omar Speights
5. LB Elias Neal
6. LB Troy Reeder

Rams’ 2024 defensive rankings, based on available data from the regular season and postseason, are as follows:

• Points Allowed Per Game (PPG): 22.7 (17th in the NFL)
• Total Yards Allowed Per Game: Not explicitly ranked in provided data, but the Rams allowed 619 total offensive yards in their two postseason games, averaging 4.6 yards per play.
• Rushing Yards Allowed Per Game: 103.8 (24th in the NFL)
• Passing Yards Allowed Per Game: 240.9 (10th in the NFL)
• Sacks: 38 (tied for 21st in the regular season), but a notable 16 sacks in the postseason, the most in a two-game playoff span in NFL history.
• Tackling Efficiency: Ranked 15th overall in 2024 per NFL Next Gen Stats, improving from 26th in the first 10 weeks to 8th from Week 11 through the playoffs.
• EPA/Play Allowed (Expected Points Added per Play): Ranked last (32nd) in the NFL through the first five weeks (0.165), but since Week 7, second only to the Eagles at -0.183, indicating a significant turnaround.
• Passer Rating Allowed: 95.9 (10th-highest in the NFL, indicating a weaker pass defense).
• The passing touchdown rate allowed is 5.4% (6th-highest in the NFL).
• Third-Down Conversion Rate Allowed: Not explicitly ranked league-wide, but in the postseason, the Rams allowed 12/32 (37.5%) conversions.
• Overall Defensive Ranking: The Rams finished in the bottom 10 during the regular season but surged to 17th when including playoff performance, per Pro Football Network’s Defense+ grade (88.5 B+ in Wild Card, 82.1 B- in Divisional Round).

The Rams’ defense, under first-year coordinator Chris Shula, started poorly, particularly in tackling and pass defense, but improved dramatically after the Week 6 bye. Key contributors included rookies Jared Verse and Braden Fiske, with the unit excelling in postseason pressure (54.5% non-blitz pressure rate, highest since 2019). However, the secondary, particularly at cornerback, remained a weak point, with players like Darious Williams and Cobie Durant struggling against passing attacks.

As we saw in the 2024 NFC championship game, there comes a time every year when the defense MUST make a stop to seal the game. We saw it with Aaron Donald during the Rams’ 2021 Super Bowl run when Donald sealed the NFC Championship game against the 49ers and the Super Bowl when he chased down Joe Burrow and closed out the game.

This is why the 2025 draft must be a draft that focuses on the defense. Signing or trading for overpaid players on the downside of their careers is a stopgap.