'He Doesn't Exist': Rams Les Snead Not Looking for 'Next Aaron Donald'
The Los Angeles Rams will have a big hole in the middle of their defensive line next season with the retirement of future first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive tackle Aaron Donald.
After a 10-year run with Donald's dominating presence up front, the Rams must look elsewhere to compensate for his absence. However, even with the loss of Donald, they have made it clear the 32-year-old is irreplaceable.
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“There will never be another Aaron Donald, so the journey is not, ‘OK, we’ve got to go find our next Aaron Donald,’" Rams general manager Les Snead said in a recent appearance on "The Season with Peter Schrager" podcast. "That is not happening; there isn’t another one on the planet, so guess what? Let’s go find good defensive players and begin the next chapter. But we’re not looking for the next Aaron Donald. He doesn’t exist."
Snead is right; Donald will go down as one of the best to do it. In 10 seasons, he racked up 111 career sacks - which is 11th all-time among all players and first for defensive tackles - 543 tackles, 176 for a loss, and 260 quarterback hits. In the process, Donald was an eight-time First-Team All-Pro and made the Pro Bowl in each of his 10 seasons.
The goal shouldn't be to find the "next Donald," as it isn't likely that the Rams will ever find a player that could live up to that expectation.
Instead, the Rams will be looking for a player who is not only good enough to play in the NFL but can help improve an already young defensive line that featured two standout rookies from last season, Kobie Turner and Byron Young.
Luckily for L.A., this upcoming draft class features several interior defensive linemen who could fit the mold of what they're looking for. Two of those are Jer'Zhan 'Johnny' Newton out of Illinois and Texas's Byron Murphy.
Both are projected to be first-round picks and are ranked as the top two defensive tackles in the class. Newton and Murphy can slot in Donald's place as a three-technique (outside shoulder of the guard) or even play in the 4i-technique (inside shoulder of offensive tackle).
Slotting either Newton or Murphy next to Turner would once again give the Rams two capable interior pass-rushers, along with their edge rushers, Young and Michael Hoecht.
