Rams’ Byron Young Eyes Super Bowl Run With Stafford, Garrett, Donald
Byron Young knows the Los Angeles Rams have a big season on their hands.
The Rams came up a possession short of beating the Seattle Seahawks, their NFC West rivals, in the NFC Championship Game last season. The Seahawks went on to win Super Bowl LX in dominant fashion, defeating the New England Patriots 29-13.
Fast forward several months, and the Rams have dramatically improved, adding reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett while also welcoming back three-time DPOY Aaron Donald, who came out of retirement after a two-year absence.
Young Chasing Consistency After Pro Bowl Season
Young returns as one of the key pieces of the Rams’ defensive unit. The 28-year-old is coming off his first Pro Bowl appearance after posting a career-high 82 tackles and 12 sacks last season. The fourth-year linebacker says he’s still looking to improve as he enters the 2026 season.
“I want to be more consistent where I can shut down a game or just a stretch of the season,” Young said in a one-on-one interview with Ratings. “I want to be more consistent in that area. I feel like I be doing decent but not good enough for my standard. I feel like I can help my team in more ways and just sometimes I feel like I’m not. But that’s where for sure, to be more consistent and be more of a guy that they can rely on.”
While Young acknowledges that he would like to return to the Pro Bowl and earn his first All-Pro selection, the No. 1 objective is to win the Super Bowl. The Rams are the +550 betting favorites to win the Super Bowl, ahead of the Buffalo Bills and the defending champion Seahawks.
“Oh, yeah, for sure, just doubling what I already did, Pro Bowl, getting All-Pro for sure, Defensive Player of the Year, but No. 1 goal is to get to the Super Bowl,” Young said. “(I want) those individual awards for sure, but the end goal is getting the team to the Super Bowl. We’ve been that close last year. I just want us to keep getting better this year, and I know we can. We have some great pieces, I know we can get there.”
Stafford’s Return Sets The Tone
A big reason the Rams are the Super Bowl favorites — aside from the two major defensive additions in Garrett and Donald — is the return of reigning league MVP Matthew Stafford. Stafford may be 38 years old, but he’s coming off the best season of his 17-year career, earning his first first-team All-Pro selection while leading the league in both passing yards and passing touchdowns for the first time in his career.
Stafford decided to return for an 18th season after winning the MVP award.
“I tell everybody he’s the same guy no matter what moment, win, lose, draw, like he’s always the same guy,” Young said. “You know he’s not too big for the moment. He don’t think he’s better than nobody. He doesn’t act like he’s better than anybody. He treats everybody the same in the facility, he treats you like family, having a little conversation with you around the facility, checking up on you.
“I think that’s what makes him who he is,” Young continued. “Being a humble guy, a humble individual, and winning MVP. The way he approaches every day, like when we’re rushing him, he gives us tips. We talk to him about stuff. I ask him questions and we help each other out. I think his mindset for the game and how he approaches it is why he’s one of the best quarterbacks in the league and a future Hall of Famer. Just everything about it, I love it and I’m glad he’s coming back and continuing the journey.”
When asked if he believes a big reason Stafford is coming back is to win the Super Bowl and finish the job, Young agreed.
“Yes, sir, I agree,” Young said. “That speaks a lot for him to return. He’s not gonna return for no reason. He’s gonna return because he must feel like where we were last year, we could capitalize on that and get the job done this year with the Super Bowl.”
Ty Simpson Learning Behind An MVP
Even though the Rams will have Stafford for at least this season, they selected his eventual successor, Ty Simpson, with a first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Simpson was considered the second-best quarterback in the draft class and had a solid year with the Alabama Crimson Tide last season.
Simpson impressed in the preseason, throwing three touchdowns and zero interceptions with a 78.3% completion rate and a 109.9 passer rating.
“That’s gotta be a dream come true, learning from an MVP and a guy that just approaches every day like a G,” Young said of Simpson learning from Stafford.
“I feel like that’s gotta be a great situation to get developed and learn from one of the best in the game that can still play at a very high level. You don’t really get a lot of situations like that. I think Jordan Love got an opportunity like that behind Aaron Rodgers. But other than that, a lot of players don’t really get to do that. He’s already got a great mindset picking Matthew Stafford’s brain and just learning from him, him already thinking like that.”