The Los Angeles Rams may be without their most valuable defensive lineman this season when they take the field without Aaron Donald for the first time in a decade. With that said, the Rams may also still have one of the defensive lines with the most upside and one of the most valuable groups in the NFL.
While the Rams are technically paying $33.5M on the defensive line, $25M of that is still allocated to Donald. This leaves about $8.5M for the rest of the group that includes Kobie Turner, Braden Fiske, and Bobby Brown III. Turner is the epitome of a player exceeding his value. Last year, Turner’s cap-hit was $980k. Doing the math, the Rams paid $108.89k per sack. Contrarily, even when compared to another rookie in Jalen Carter, the Philadelphia Eagles paid $650k per sack.
Despite the Rams being without Donald, they may be building one of the more underrated and more valuable groups in the NFL. Turner was arguable the best rookie defender last season as he led all rookies in sacks. Braden Fiske was taken in the second round and someone that the Rams traded up for in the draft and brings another element of speed. Lastly, Bobby Brown III remains an underrated run stopper among the group.
Between Turner, Fiske, and Brown, the Rams are spending approximately $4.2M. Add Jared Verse and Byron Young to that equation and it’s just another $4.01M. Fiske and Verse will both be rookies, but bring a lot up upside. Even if you just include Turner and Brown in this conversation, there is a lot reason to be positive about the front seven. Again, Turner led all rookies in sacks and was one of the better defensive linemen last season. If he takes that next step and continues to improve, he likely won’t reach Donald levels, but will still be a very productive player along the defensive front.
Additionally, while he played limited snaps and was more of a rotational player, Brown ranked nine in run stop percentage via PFF and ranked in the top-20 in average depth of tackle.
When the Oakland A’s couldn’t re-sign Jason Giambi, Brandon Beane famously said,
“Guys, you’re still trying to replace Giambi. I told you we can’t do it, and we can’t do it. Now, what we might be able to do is re-create him. Re-create him in the aggregate.”
The Rams were never going to replace Donald. That was always going to be an impossible task. However, they acquired some talented pieces in Turner and Fiske on that front. Offenses will be forced to watch for pressure coming from multiple spots, rather than just one player.
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At the end of the day, it’s going to be interesting to see how defensive coordinator Chris Shula pieces it all together. Shula should be able to scheme some really cool looks with the versatility of the players that he’ll have in his arsenal.
When it comes to the Rams franchise, it is full of talented and successful defensive fronts. In the 1960s there was the Fearsome Foursome of Rosey Grier, Lamar Lundy, Merlin Olsen, and Deacon Jones. That later became Jack Youngblood, Fred Dryer, Olsen, and Larry Brooks in the 70s. They then had the Mob Squad/Sack City in Robert Quinn, Michael Brockers, Aaron Donald, and Chris Long.
That isn’t to say that the current group is as talented or will produce as much as those groups mentioned. At this point it’s crazy to put a group that just lost their best player in the same book, let alone the same conversation as the Fearsome Foursome. However, this is a franchise that has consistently produced some of the NFL’s best pass rush units up front.
A core on the defensive line that includes talents like Fiske, Turner, Verse, and Young along with Brown has a lot of upside. If they produce to their potential, it could end up being one of the most valuable groups in the NFL and be a cornerstone of what is a young defense.
