Rams’ greatest need after Aaron Donald retirement

The Rams cannot replace Aaron Donald, but there are other gaps that need to be filled in addition to defensive tackle.
It’s easy to argue that Aaron Donald’s retirement on Friday has left the biggest hole in the Los Angeles Rams roster, and it’s true that the team needs to look more closely at defensive linemen in the draft going forward, but there may be more pressing needs on the depth chart.

One of the few defensive tackles receiving first-round attention this season—Byron Murphy of Texas—might be a candidate the Rams examine. But what about the requirements at the edge rusher? or defensive end? or safety and the cornerback? or left tackle? That’s not even accounting for the fact that there isn’t a certain future at wide receiver or running back should Cooper Kupp retire.

In actuality, many of us needed a wake-up call after Donald announced his retirement. The Rams were my pick to win the NFC and make it to the Super Bowl the following season before Friday. It is now evident to me that, in order for something like that to occur, the Rams will not only need an injury season blessed by the fountain of youth, but they will also need to address certain positions that are still tabbed to start players like Christian Rozeboom, Michael Hoecht, Quentin Lake, Russ Yeast, Cobie Durant/Derion Kendrick, Demarcus Robinson, and now a defensive line featuring Bobby Brown and Desjuan Johnson. This is because Donald has concealed a number of problems with L.A.’s defense.
Not that there is anything against any of those players, but the Rams can’t possibly be done assembling their 2024 roster and depth chart as the starting lineup for a team that needs to defeat the 49ers in order to win the division and then defeat teams like Philadelphia, Dallas, Green Bay, Detroit, Tampa Bay, Atlanta, and so on in order to get to the Super Bowl.

I am aware that the Los Angeles Rams of 2023 exceeded my expectations in every way. I did, however, believe that the 2024 Rams would rank among the top NFL teams going into this past weekend. How could they possibly be superior than that?

Les Snead’s club has 11 draft picks, so I’m sure they have a plan to cover the rest, and Sean McVay knows how to win games, which is what they normally do when he leads them.

What then is the “BIGGEST” necessity? Which Rams roster deficiency might prove to be the team’s undoing?

I would discuss the following topics in that order:

EDGE 1/EDGE 2 – NEED 1
With the exception of this individual, I think the Rams have at least one good-to-great player at every position or location on the field. Furthermore, it’s considered one of the four most crucial football positions: attacking the quarterback from a wide position and getting the upper hand in run defense.

About Byron Young, the third-round selection from Tennessee last year who had an incredible eight sacks and nineteen quarterback hits as a rookie, I have nothing but positive things to say. Despite possessing one of the strongest physical and athletic profiles of any edge in the draft, Young was available in the third round and entered the draft uncertain about how his age would affect his growth. He turned 26 last week.
Simply said, I don’t think Young will be in that category for the long run; I think he’s more on the verge of being a good player.

Naturally, he’s competent! He plays football for the NFL! Are you nuts?

It’s crazy to consider the enormous chances against high school and collegiate football players ever making it this far, even if I am aware that all NFL players are excellent players. And before he broke out as a potential late in his career, a few years ago, Young had some of the longest odds of any of them.
In other words, in comparison to NFL edge rushers ranked in the top-10, top-20, and top-30, Byron Young still needs to establish his case and provide evidence for it. Young will be a top-25 edge rusher if he maintains his rookie-level performance, and the Rams will have him signed for two more years on a rookie-scale contract. That’s fantastic.

But I’m willing to wager that Young becomes more of an EDGE 2 than the top edge rusher on any defense. Someone with the ability to regularly pressure the passer while stopping the run.

Thirteen of Young’s nineteen quarterback hits during his rookie year occurred in the first seven games, which is an intriguing aspect of the season. Three of Young’s six quarterback hits in his final ten games of 2023 came against the league’s poorest offensive line and the dreadful New York Giants. Then, with the starters rested against the 49ers in Week 18, there was a fourth.

Young had been in a pass-rushing rut prior to those final two games, during which he also added two sacks to his total.

Fans also need to consider the extent to which Aaron Donald’s presence benefited Los Angeles’ pass rush and run defense. What effect will that have on players like Young and Kobie Turner in 2024? Do the Rams have the potential to improve their run defense in the absence of Donald? In 2023, their run defense was mediocre. Or are they going to turn around? since they were positioned in the center.
If Young were positioned across from Von Miller or even Leonard Floyd, as they were five years ago, that would be one thing, but he isn’t. He is currently Michael Hoecht’s opposite. Not just Donald’s absence, but Byron Young’s position as the defense’s top edge rusher is the main issue facing Los Angeles right now.

As Blaine Grisak noted this past weekend, Haason Reddick is one experienced edge rusher still available, but a trade and a deal would be necessary for that. The Eagles are out of alternatives, and I don’t think clubs are hounding the door for a 30-year-old making $16 million who is also dissatisfied with his deal, so the trade cost probably wouldn’t be too high.

But unless L.A. is super happy with what they saw in practices from Nick Hampton and Ochaun Mathis last year, then the edge position is in dire straits.

No forced turnovers

The Rams’ lowest ranking from the previous season—they were 30th in takeaways—will be a recurring theme here. Jordan Fuller, who led the defense in forced fumbles (3) and interceptions (3), was just lost. If Ahkello Witherspoon doesn’t re-sign, only two interceptions from the defense from the previous season—one by Rozeboom and one by Kendrick—appear likely to return.

How can teams make more mistakes? Of course, a lot of turnovers are the result of bad luck, but by applying pressure to the quarterback, you can control the game. QB pressure results in incomplete passes and strip-sacks.

Just 23 quarterback hits and eight sacks were retired by the Rams on Friday. Is it now expected of Young, Hoecht, and Turner to exert additional pressure with AD in 2024? I don’t think so.

Right now, I believe that the Rams must select an edge rusher in the first round of every mock draft they do. Dallas Turner of Alabama is the only player who is consistently selected before the Rams would be eligible at 19, followed by Jared Verse of Florida State and Laiatu Latu of UCLA. Darius Robinson of Missouri and Chop Robinson of Penn State would be the next.

Yes, the Rams do have further pressing needs. But nothing beats an edge group where Hoecht, Hampton, Mathis, and Byron Young are your next best players at the position—by a wide margin. Since that player is no longer on the depth chart, they need someone who can be significantly more of a creator and disruptor on his own, without requiring assistance from an All-Time defensive linemen.