Rams Become First NFL Team to Field Reigning MVP Quarterback and Defensive Player of the Year

The 2026 Los Angeles Rams are uniquely positioned, having acquired both the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Myles Garrett, and the reigning league MVP quarterback, Matthew Stafford.

This season, the Rams become the first team to field both the previous season’s MVP quarterback and the previous season’s Defensive Player of the Year, with Stafford and Garrett having captured the league’s two most prestigious on‑field awards in 2025.

Technically, only two franchises have previously fielded both the reigning MVP and the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, because in those seasons the same individual won both honors. Alan Page, a Vikings defensive lineman, achieved this feat in 1971, the inaugural year of the Associated Press Defensive Player of the Year award, and Lawrence Taylor, a Giants linebacker, did so in 1986. Consequently, the 1972 Vikings and the 1987 Giants each had the MVP and Defensive Player of the Year on their rosters, although the award winners were identical individuals.

The sole other team to possess both the MVP and Defensive Player of the Year was the 1994 San Francisco 49ers, featuring quarterback Steve Young and cornerback Deion Sanders. However, Sanders departed for Dallas in free agency the following offseason, meaning the 1995 49ers did not retain both reigning award winners.

The Rams were already considered strong Super Bowl contenders before the recent trade, and with Stafford staying in Los Angeles and Garrett joining him, they are now overwhelming favorites to win the championship.

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