Despite being 9-4, the Los Angeles Rams haven’t yet locked up a playoff berth this year. They can do so by beating the New York Jets on Sunday afternoon at SoFi Stadium, also moving them one step closer to sealing the NFC West.

With the season winding to a close, it was a perfect time for a new Rams Wire Mailbag. I answered questions from readers on Twitter, who asked about everything from Brandon Staley’s future in L.A. to the ideal opponent for the Rams in the first round of the playoffs.

Let’s get to the questions.

1 Ideal postseason opponent in Round 1?

Ideally, it’d have to be one of the teams from the NFC East, whichever one ends up emerging from that struggling division. However, in order for the Rams to face the NFC East in the divisional round, they’d have to slip to the No. 5 seed, and thus have to travel across the country to either Washington, New York or Philly.

But if the Rams were to win the NFC West, I think the best-case scenario would be the Cardinals, assuming they make it in. The Seahawks are always dangerous with Russell Wilson, the Buccaneers have a guy who’s won six Super Bowls and in the event that the Rams slip all the way to No. 6 or 7 in the NFC, a game against the Saints or Packers wouldn’t favor L.A.

As for the Super Bowl, I think the Rams might be best suited to take on the Chiefs. They have the secondary and pass rush to slow down Patrick Mahomes, as well as an offense that can keep the ball away from Kansas City.

2 Lack of reps for John Wolford?

The Rams are doing what they can to keep Jared Goff and Wolford separated, which limits the risk of both players being knocked out due to COVID-19. Wolford’s lack of experience is certainly a minor concern, at least, but there are few better options out there right now to take his place – especially considering how long it’d take for a backup to learn McVay’s offense.

3 Rams' best chance to win a Super Bowl?

Every team will be in a bind next year if the salary cap drops that much, but the Rams especially. They have a top-heavy roster and a lack of draft capital, which would make roster-building difficult in that scenario.

So I would say this is their best chance to win, but their Super Bowl window won’t close after this season. They’re still built for the long haul thanks to the contracts of Jared Goff, Cooper Kupp, Jalen Ramsey, Aaron Donald and Sean McVay.

4 Starting ILBs next year?

This is a really tough question. I like to think maybe Travin Howard will get a chance after he was in line to start this year, which would be a similar situation to the one we saw play out with Micah Kiser from last year to this season.

Kiser should be on track to start again, having a year of experience under his belt. A combination of Howard and Kiser might not be a bad one, having one “thumper” type and a rangier linebacker on the field together.

5 McVay or Staley as a head coach?

McVay, without question. He’s proved for almost four years that he’s an excellent head coach and is still only 34 years old. Brandon Staley has done an outstanding job this season, but it’s only one year of experience as a coordinator.

There’s no guarantee Staley would be a successful head coach right out of the gate like McVay has been.

6 Free agents to re-sign?

John Johnson would be a great re-signing if the Rams can afford to make it work. Darious Williams is a restricted free agent, making him a must-sign for L.A. Troy Hill and Leonard Floyd will also hit the market, but they might have played their way out of the Rams’ price range.

When it comes down to it, Williams is the one player the Rams must re-sign based on value and affordability.

7 Staley back for another year?

I don’t have any inside information or intel, but I really think Staley will be back for another year. It’s rare for a guy to go from first-year coordinator to head coach after one season, and as well as the Rams defense has played this year, it’s hard to feel completely confident that Staley would have immediate success as a head coach.

He’d benefit from another year under McVay’s guidance, and there’s nothing wrong with getting a second chance to coach Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey in sunny L.A.

8 Replacement if Staley leaves?

Pleasant is definitely someone who could get a chance. He was interviewed by the Bengals for their defensive coordinator spot and if the Rams were to lose Staley, it would make sense to stay in-house by promoting Pleasant.

Joe Barry is another guy who could get a shot at replacing Staley, having been with McVay for the last few years. McVay went outside the box to hire Staley, so it’s hard to say what his next move would be, but I’d expect it to be another unproven guy that he can help mold as he did with Staley.

9 Re-sign Matt Gay?

Gay will be a free agent next year and based on the comments McVay has made this year, the Rams seem confident in Gay as a long-term option at kicker. While he’s had his misses this year, he’s shown off a strong leg and displayed good accuracy for the most part.

I’d expect L.A. to bring him back on a short-term deal, at the very least.

10 Nsimba Webster to remain top returner?

McVay said last week that the Rams will stick with Webster on punt returns, so I’d assume that’s the path they take. He’s made a few mistakes, like the costly fumble against the Cardinals, but there are worse options out there.

I don’t expect the Rams to make any changes right now, though maybe you could see Kupp used in obvious fair-catch situations, just as a safer option.

11 Who won the Peters-Young trade?

I’d still say the Ravens. Peters is a ball hawk who in the right scheme can be one of the best corners in the league. Young has played well the last two weeks, but Peters is a more impactful player.

That being said, the Rams made the right move to essentially swap out Peters and Aqib Talib for Jalen Ramsey and Darious Williams. They upgraded at that spot despite not getting a ton back in return.