Rams News: How LA Plans to Replace Aaron Donald This Season

Los Angeles has bolstered its DL following his retirement.

Dec 3, 2023; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald (99) enters / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Rams emerged from the 2023 season as a team that defied all odds. Initially projected to be vying for the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, they instead secured the No. 6 spot in the NFC playoffs. They battled fiercely against the Detroit Lions in an NFC Wild Card game that came down to the wire. 

It was an impressive feat for a team slated to accomplish nothing. Many started to believe in the Rams moving forward, with Matthew Stafford at the helm, a good amount of weapons, and their leader Aaron Donald holding it down on the defensive end. The Rams were primed to make even more noise in 2024, and while it's still possible they do, they won't have Donald, the best defensive player of this generation. 

Donald's retirement, announced in mid-March after a remarkable 10 seasons, has left an immense void for the Rams. His departure is not just a loss of a player, but a loss of a leader and a defensive powerhouse that will be hard to replace. 

With Aaron's loss, this year's NFL draft became even more vital, and the Rams emphasized the defensive end. With their first six picks, the Rams selected four defensive players. Clearly, that had a lot to do with Donald's loss. 

In Dalton Wasserman's latest column for PFF, he assesses that as the one significant takeaway for the Rams following the draft. 

"The Rams have decided to try to replace Aaron Donald's production with an assembly line of defensive linemen. Four of their first six draft picks were defensive linemen, and they come in all shapes and sizes."

L.A.'s first two picks were two Florida State guys, edge rusher Jared Verse and defensive tackle Braden Fiske. 

Two of the following three picks were Kamern Kinchens, a defensive back from Miami, and Brennan Jackson, an edge rusher from Washington State. It won't just take one person to replace Donald, but a collective group of four guys could do the trick. 

With those young rookies followed by experienced guys on the defensive end with Kobie Turner, Byron Young, Ernest Jones IV, and Tre'Davious White, to name a few. L.A. could be a force on defense, even post-Aaron Donald. 

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