The NFL announced its Pro Bowl rosters on Tuesday and the Los Angeles Rams had four players make it for the NFC. Among those four players were Puka Nacua, Matthew Stafford, Jared Verse, and Byron Young. Not every player can make the Pro Bowl roster, but the Rams certainly had a few players miss out who were deserving. Below are the biggest Pro Bowl snubs for the Rams.
Linebacker spots on Pro Bowl rosters can be difficult to come by as only two players make it from each conference. Jack Campbell from the Detroit Lions was always going to be a lock. However, while Zack Baun has been good, he hasn’t been as good as he was last year. Baun isn’t inside the top-20 in tackles and has just two interceptions.
Nate Landman has four forced fumbles this season and has completely changed the Rams defense. Landman was playing so well, the Rams opted to give him an in-season extension and not allow him to hit the free agent market this spring. Landman has arguably been a top-10 linebacker against the run this season and he has shown his play-making ability as he leads all linebackers with four forced fumbles. Landman had a Pro Bowl-caliber season, but unfortunately there just aren’t enough spots available.
The biggest snub for the Rams when it comes to the 2026 Pro Bowl is Kam Curl. It’s a shame that the Rams don’t have one of their safeties making the Pro Bowl because it’s been one of the better safety groups across the NFL. Unfortunately for Quentin Lake, an injury hurt his chances after he was having a Pro Bowl type year. However, Curl still should have gotten Pro Bowl recognition, especially over Budda Baker.
According to PFF, Baker has ranked 64th out of 66 safeties this season. Meanwhile, Curl is the top-rated safety defending the run and one of the best tackling safeties in the NFL. He also ranks fourth among safeties in tackles. Baker has the name recognition, but he’s had one of the worst seasons of his career. It would have been nice to see Curl get some recognition.
Much like linebacker, the defensive line position group is tough to make it when it comes to the Pro Bowl. Still, Jalen Carter had a down season and Leonard Williams simply wasn’t among the best defensive linemen in the NFC. Quinnen Williams added some quality to the defensive line in the NFC after being traded to the Dallas Cowboys and has been stellar against the run.
However, Poona Ford has been the second-highest graded defensive lineman against the run this season via PFF. He may only have two sacks, but that’s also not something he’s asked to do. Still, he has a higher win-rate than Carter and is only slightly behind Williams. Ford is consistently one of those players that gets underappreciated because he does the dirty work on the defensive line. He’s had a great year and should have gotten more Pro Bowl consideration.
How is it possible that the wide receiver with the most receiving touchdowns isn’t going to make the Pro Bowl? In all likelihood only one Rams wide receiver was going to make the Pro Bowl and that was always going to be Nacua. However, what Adams has done this season can’t go completely unnoticed. Coming into the season, there were questions about what Adams the Rams were going to get. They may not have gotten prime Adams, but his 14 touchdowns are the most in a season since 2022.
Had Adams not gotten hurt, he may have set the franchise’s single season record for receiving touchdowns. Adams finished with 14 and would have needed 17 to tie the record. He would have needed three touchdowns over the final three weeks. Given his pace, that was certainly within the realm of possibility. Adams has taken the Rams’ red zone offense to a level that we haven’t seen under Sean McVay. He may not have the yards, but Adams’ impact has been felt.
Similar to Ford, Kevin Dotson is one of the most underrated offensive linemen in the NFL. The Rams have a dominant run game and it’s a shame that not a single player in their starting five is going to represent them in the Pro Bowl. It also shows just how good they are as a unit rather than just a collection of individual players.
With that said, Dotson has been close to dominant this year. His 89.3 run-blocking grade ranks third in the NFL and is a career-high. He also has a higher pass-blocking grade than Tyler Smith who made it over him. The Rams have one of the best run games in the NFL in large part because of Dotson. He’s had a fantastic year despite his right tackle changing three different times. For years, Rodger Saffold was a staple at left guard on that side of the offensive line and rarely got recognized. Dotson may be headed on that same path.