Does Myles Garrett Give Rams the Best Defensive Line in NFC West?

Heading into the 2026 offseason, the Los Angeles Rams already had one of the best defensive lines in the NFL. It’s a position in which the Rams have invested heavily in since Aaron Donald retired in 2023. That investment resulted in young, talented players such as Kobie Turner and Braden Fiske.

The Rams added to that defensive line and pass rush last week when they traded for Myles Garrett from the Cleveland Browns. While Garrett undoubtedly gives the Rams the best starting unit on the defensive line, there are some questions about the depth. NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah noted that while the Rams have the better starters, the Seattle Seahawks have the better depth.

You can debate Rams starting DL vs Seahawks starting DL. You can’t debate the backups. Seahawks 2nd unit is much better. Depth has been HUGE for the last 2 SB winners.
— Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) June 5, 2026

It’s certainly a conversation worth having. Having good depth, especially along the defensive line, is key to winning a championship. By trading for Garrett, the Rams made it clear that’s their goal. However, does their defensive line have enough depth, and is it the best in the NFC West?

Rams Starters Much Better Than Seahawks

When it comes to the starters, it’s really not close between the Rams and Seahawks. The top four defensive linemen via overall PFF grade are on the Rams. Myles Garrett, Poona Ford, Byron Young, and Kobie Turner lead the group. Fiske ranks lower among the group, but he is still a quality starter.

Player	OVR PFF Grade	Run Def. Grade	Pass Rush Grade	Pass Rush Win Rate	Run Stop Rate
LAR - Myles Garrett	92.7	82.5	93.3	24.6%	5.6%
LAR - Poona Ford	86.2	78.7	76.2	13.4%	11.6%
LAR - Byron Young	84.9	79.3	83.4	16.8%	9.8%
LAR - Kobie Turner	83.1	70.8	84.6	13.7%	6.6%
SEA - Demarcus Lawrence	82.9	85.0	62.7	10.8%	9.2%
SEA - Leonard Williams	75.3	70.9	69.7	11.9%	9.1%
SEA - Byron Murphy	72.4	53.4	76.6	11.8%	9.2%
SEA - Jarran Reed	62.4	54.2	62.8	9.4%	7.5%
SEA - Uchenna Nwosu	60.4	62.6	65.1	12%	5.8%
LAR - Braden Fiske	58.5	45.8	64.8	12.9%	7.6%

Both defensive lines are built very differently. The Rams have built their defensive line to get after the quarterback. Uchenna Nwosu has the highest pass rush win rate for the Seahawks at 12 percent. Fiske is the fifth-best for the Rams at 12.9 percent.

However, there is a reason why the Seahawks were so good at stopping the run last season. They are more well-rounded in that area. The Rams certainly aren’t bad at stopping the run, but it isn’t their primary strength.

Looking at these two units position-by-position, the Rams are clearly the better unitThe only spot where the Seahawks may have an advantage is Reed over Fiske. Even still, those two are pretty close. The Rams have the better edge rushers and Kobie Turner is better than Byron Young. Ford’s strength isn’t rushing the passer, but he was still effective in that area.

How Does Rams’ Depth Compare to Seahawks?

When it comes to the depth from both teams, it’s certainly much closer. Derick Hall and Dante Fowler are much more experienced than Desjuan Johnson and Josaiah Stewart. Still, Johnson and Stewart are slightly underrated. From an efficiency standpoint, Johnson and Stewart were better in 2025. They are both comparable as pass rushers in terms of win rate.

Additionally, Johnson was better than Hall at stopping the run and Stewart was better than Fowler. Stewart is also entering year two, while Johnson just started playing on the edge last season. That might give the Seahawks the slight advantage on the edge, but Johnson and Stewart are severely underrated.

Player	OVR PFF Grade	Run Def. Grade	Pass Rush Grade	Pass Rush Win Rate	Run Stop Rate
SEA - Dante Fowler	77.6	67.8	72.8	14.3%	4.1%
SEA - Derick Hall	73.3	73.9	72.6	16.3%	7.9%
LAR - Desjuan Johnson	71.2	67.6	66.9	15.9%	13.8%
LAR - Josaiah Stewart	69.1	65.8	74.0	15.3%	4.7%
LAR - Tyler Davis	68.3	68.6	57.7	6.4%	8.4%
SEA - Mike Morris	61.7	65.3	60.7	9.4%	10.4%
LAR - Tim Keenan III	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
SEA - Brandon Pili	41.5	37.6	56.4	4.2%	2.9%
LAR - Ty Hamilton	29.9	29.6	49.9	3.1%	2.9%

On the defensive line, Tyler Davis is clearly the best player. Mike Morris might be slightly more balanced, but Davis proved to be great depth behind Poona Ford in 2025. There is a significant drop-off to Ty Hamilton, but the Rams added Tim Keenan III in the draft who should provide more in the run game.

Conclusion

It’s not far-fetched to say that the Rams have the better starters, but the Seahawks have better depth. However, that also doesn’t mean that the Seahawks have the better defensive line as a whole. There is a significant gap between the Rams’ starters and the Seahawks. Meanwhile, the Rams’ depth might not be as good at the top as the Seahawks’, but it’s still pretty close, especially if you project some improvement from Stewart and Johnson.

These are two units that could define the NFC West this season. Given the advantage that the Rams have with their starters and the fact that they added Garrett, who set the single-season sack record last year,, it’s hard not to give them the edge.

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