Does unit investment pay off?
Here is how much NFL teams spend on their units in 2025 vs. their respective PFF grades through week 6.
(You don’t want your team in the red area which means “expensive and below average”) pic.twitter.com/RLybye3E6l

— Sebastian (@mrcaseb) October 15, 2025

The Los Angeles Rams know how to spend their money.

General manager Les Snead has allocated his salary cap effectively this year to build a roster that is both young and properly priced. While he splurged for Matthew Stafford, Davante Adams, Kyren Williams and Alaric Jackson, Snead has been more frugal on defense with key acquisitions like Poona Ford and Nate Landman while leveraging cheaper rookie deals like Puka Nacua, Kobie Turner, Jared Verse and Byron Young.

Football analytics expert Sebastian Carl broke down each team’s investments in their offense and defense through Week 6 by comparing how much NFL teams spent on their units in 2025 vs. their respective PFF grades. What came out were four quadrants: cheap and good, expensive and good, expensive and bad or cheap and bad.

The Rams offense fell into the “expensive and good” camp, while the defense is squarely in the “cheap and good” side. And they still have $15.6 million to spend, if they want to this year, per Over The Cap.

These are good things. Why? Because the Rams are spending their money on the right players. You have to pay top-dollar for a top quarterback, and the Rams made sure to keep Stafford in town and happy with a pay raise. Pairing him with an experience pass-catcher in Adams and a solid runner like Williams (on a team-friendly deal, no less) is critical, too, when Nacua is still on his rookie deal.

L.A. is spending a lot on its offense, but it’s paying off.

The defense side is just as good but incredibly less expensive. Again, a lot of that has to do with those rookie deals, but Snead also didn’t splurge at positions that aren’t worth paying a premium for at the moment. Inside linebacker, safety and cornerback are all critical defensive positions but devalued when they cost too much. Nose tackles are important and worth the money when you have a top-flight player, but the Rams didn’t need to pay exorbitant prices to find a running back with Turner and Tyler Davis.

Money issues will come sooner rather than later for the Rams, though, when guys like Nacua, Turner and Young are eligible for new deals. But, for now, Snead and L.A. are right where they need to be to make a run at a Super Bowl.