Aaron Donald keeps Rams out of basement of PFF’s defensive line rankings
Aaron Donald is expected to be the glue that keeps the Rams’ defense together in 2023. With so many stars gone, including Jalen Ramsey and Bobby Wagner, Donald will need to put together another one of his All-Pro seasons in order for the Rams to remain competitive.
As costly as the departures of Ramsey, Wagner and Leonard Floyd will be, we also can’t overlook the losses of Greg Gaines and A’Shawn Robinson. Now that they’re gone, the Rams need to replace two-thirds of their starting defensive line.
Pro Football Focus ranked the Rams’ D-line as the best in the NFL this time last year, but Los Angeles has dropped precipitously entering the 2023 season. According to PFF, the Rams’ defensive line ranks 22nd in the league, and it’s only that high because of Donald.
If not for Aaron Donald, the Rams could very well have ended up outside the top 30 on this list, but even the three-time Defensive Player of the Year’s presence could not lead to a better ranking for this unit.
Donald earned a PFF overall grade over 90.0 for the ninth time in his nine-year career this past season, but he was dethroned as the highest-graded interior defender after seven seasons at the top.
Outside of him, the Rams do not have much to offer on the defensive line, but they did draft five defensive linemen this year, so they’ll be hoping that at least one or two can step up in 2023.
The Rams have a host of unproven players in contention to start alongside Donald, but there’s no clear indication who will be on the field for the first snaps in Week 1. Sean McVay even said they could use a deeper rotation of players than usual, suggesting they won’t have the same three players playing the majority of the snaps like the last two years.
Marquise Copeland, Bobby Brown III, Earnest Brown IV, Kobie Turner, Desjuan Johnson and Jonah Williams are among the defenders competing for snaps up front, but it’s hard to say any of them instill much confidence.
