Rams Select Replacement for Aaron Donald in the Most Recent Mel Kiper Jr. Mock Draft.

Last week, superstar defensive lineman Aaron Donald shockingly revealed his decision to retire, meaning the Los Angeles Rams lost the best defensive player in franchise history. The Rams are forced to improvise in order to fill the sudden and massive void at defensive tackle. There is one player with a first-round grade who, at least in terms of playstyle and motor, might have a chance, despite the obviously astronomically low odds of picking the next Aaron Donald.

Naturally, we are talking about Byron Murphy II, a defensive tackle for the Texas Longhorns, who was originally mentioned by RamDigest.com on the day that Donald announced his retirement as a possible draft choice for Los Angeles. Mel Kiper Jr., an NFL Draft expert for ESPN, has now noticed the trend and, in his most recent mock draft, he selected Murphy to the Rams at No. 19.

Prior to free agency, defensive tackle wasn’t on my list of needs for the Rams, but on Friday, that all changed. The future Hall of Famer Aaron Donald announced his retirement, leaving a huge void that needs to be filled, according to Kiper. “At 6-foot-1 and 297 pounds, Murphy is the finest inside pass-rusher in this class and shares a build with Donald. He has intriguing tools at the position, but I’m not suggesting he’ll be an All-Pro forever. Last season, he generated 33 pressures and had five sacks. There is a lot of logic to this pairing.”

Murphy, who combined with T’Vondre Sweat to form one-half of the nation’s most formidable defensive tackle tandem and one of the best rushing defenses, has been compared to Donald in the past because of his similar skill set, work ethic, and aggressiveness.

No, Donald is not Murphy. Nobody is. However, he would fit the Rams’ defensive strategy and offer the qualities they would be seeking for in a replacement.

Steve Sarkisian, the head coach of Murphy’s collegiate team, remarked, “He’s built like a pit bull, man.” “He is powerful. He has incredibly powerful shoulders. He is incredibly strong and swift. He plays hard and has a very good football IQ. Particularly considering his size, those are all really great requirements for a defensive lineman. The main issue, of course, is that Murphy might be gone by the time the Rams select at No. 19 next month. That being said, they might strike it lucky if Kiper’s predictions materialize.