Woodland Hills, Calif. — By now, it’s well documented that Rams coach Sean McVay isn’t the best at hiding his emotions. He didn’t look the happiest when his GM Les Snead drafted quarterback Ty Simpson with the No. 13 pick in April. McVay, however, smiled during Myles Garrett’s introductory news conference on Tuesday. There’s really nothing else you can do besides beam after learning that you’re about to coach one of the greatest edge rushers in football history. Heck, even Jared Verse handled the news well despite finding out that he was headed to a team that has done plenty of losing across many decades.“We just executed a trade where we acquired Myles Garrett and you’re going to Cleveland,” McVay recalled telling Verse, the talented third-year edge rusher thrown into the biggest trade of the year. The Rams also relinquished first-, second- and third-round picks in 2027, ’28 and ’29, respectively.Hearing “good luck in Cleveland” isn’t exactly good news, but he was also traded for Myles freakin’ Garrett. That’s more understandable than Poona Ford getting a couple bucks out of Garrett before giving his new teammate his No. 95 jersey. It also says plenty about Verse that the Browns viewed him as the missing piece before agreeing to give up the reigning Defensive Player of the Year. Myles Garrett had to pay more than a couple bucks to get No. 95 from Poona Ford 💰 pic.twitter.com/ahaFtR9qgd— Gilberto Manzano (@GManzano24) June 2, 2026So, Verse likely didn’t need much time to look forward, but losing Verse seemed to be a sore spot for McVay at Tuesday’s news conference. He got a bit testy with a reporter after being asked to share what he told Verse after delivering the news of the trade.“What would you guess I told him?” McVay responded, a line he usually says to questions he doesn’t really want to answer. But being respectful to a recently departed former player is understandable, just like saying yes to a deal to acquire Garrett. (A grumpy McVay was also trying to be respectful of Matthew Stafford after the team drafted his future replacement.) However, it was a bit surprising seeing McVay’s reaction to a different question that wasn’t even directed toward him. Garrett was asked whether it would be a major disappointment if the Rams don’t win the Super Bowl this season. McVay interjected with this: “Damn, that’s how you feel, huh?”The consensus football public might be feeling that way after the moves the Rams have made this offseason. It was as if McVay had just realized he’s going to field “Super Bowl or bust” questions for next few months. Maybe his half-joking response was his way of trying to deflect some pressure off his players, a group that consists of top-10 players at quarterback, wide receiver, cornerback and edge rusher. It was actually somewhat not believable hearing Snead say that he told Browns GM Andrew Berry no thanks when Berry first asked for Verse in the deal a few weeks back. Snead had to look to his left to make sure he didn’t just offend Garrett by revealing at the introductory news conference that he needed time to think whether losing Verse and gaining Garrett was a good deal for the Rams. — Sports Illustrated (@SInow) June 2, 2026Duh. Adding Garrett to any team would make them better. For the Rams, specifically, adding Garrett makes them superior and the most hyped preseason Super Bowl favorite in recent memory. This brings back memories of the 2007 Patriots after landing Randy Moss. Even the 2011 Eagles come to mind—they gained plenty of summer notoriety after Vince Young’s “Dream Team” comments.For the sake of not offending football historians and sidestepping recency bias, I’ll choose my words carefully: the 2026 Rams might have the most stacked roster from any team … this century? (Please don’t attack me, those who watched the 49ers and Cowboys in the ’90s.) Maybe the more suitable statement is saying that the 2026 Rams have the biggest target on their backs since the Eagles’ “Dream Team” that only went 8–8. The L.A. offense has Stafford and star receivers Puka Nacua and Davante Adams. This unit could be on the verge of setting records after the acquisitions of Garrett and cornerbacks Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson drastically improved defensive coordinator Chris Shula’s unit. This will be the first team to roster the reigning MVP and Defensive Player of the Year.So, of course, anything but a Super Bowl would be a failure for this team. The 2026 Rams could be remembered in the same light as the ’07 Patriots and ’11 Eagles, and the ’98 Vikings and the ’84 Dolphins (see, I know some football history) if they aren’t popping champagne on their home stadium after Super LXI. It’s all set up for L.A. to be partying on Valentine’s Day 2027. It might be borderline unfair if the Rams convince a 35-year-old Aaron Donald to come out of retirement after being away the past two seasons. McVay has already been planting the seeds because he informed Donald a while back about his team’s pursuit of Garrett. “If Aaron decides he wants to dust ‘em off at the age of 35, I bet you he can still do it at a high clip,” McVay said. If Donald comes back—and he’s been telling reporters this week that he’s been thinking about it—there won’t be much that McVay could do about shielding his players from all-or-nothing questions. That’s the reality of the 2026 Rams, with or without Donald. They either win the Super Bowl or will be remembered as one of the most disappointing teams in football history. I’m sure McVay and Snead are well aware of that after arguably assembling a team more talented than the 2021 group that won the Super Bowl with Donald, Von Miller, Jalen Ramsey and Cooper Kupp. Maybe I do have recency bias because that’s a pretty impressive group as well. Still, the hype isn’t the same because the Rams were a few years removed from the Ramsey trade, Stafford still hadn’t won a playoff game and not many expected a triple crown season from Kupp. Summer buzz could make or break teams, evident from the ones I have already mentioned. Added pressure is a real issue and that could explain why McVay stepped in for the question aimed at Garrett. “On paper, I’m sure things look great,” Garrett said to the Super Bowl or bust question. “You know, we gotta go out there and put the work in. It starts in the field, it starts in the classroom and we’re not going to take a single day for granted. We’re not going to be looking at any odds or favorites.”McVay told reporters that nobody remembers the Super Bowl betting favorites from June. Maybe that’s true for those who don’t have a sports betting app downloaded on their phones. But with this much hype after a few blockbuster trades, the 2026 Rams will be remembered for a long time, with or without a Super Bowl.More NFL from Sports IllustratedAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow