National Football League

Future Hall of Famer Aaron Donald has a 'fire lit into me' playing with young Rams

Updated Aug. 2, 2023 3:42 p.m. ET

IRVINE, Calif. — Eric Henderson has seen this before.

The intensity and hunger in his eyes. The superhuman work ethic. The flinging of offensive linemen like rag dolls as he sprints toward the quarterback.

After missing the final six games of last season with a high ankle sprain — the first significant injury of his nine-year NFL career — Aaron Donald appears back to form during training camp.

And that's no surprise to the longtime Los Angeles Rams defensive line coach/run game coordinator.

"He does a really good job of taking care of himself, getting back to a place where he's physically able to do the things he normally does," Henderson told FOX Sports. "You see there are no limitations with him, but obviously you want to be smart because of how important he is to the organization and give him a break when there's an opportunity.

"And he's been awesome in the room, being a mentor with a lot of the young guys we have. I'm just excited to have a guy like that back — his presence and how much he means to the team."

Except for Donald, the Rams lost their entire starting defensive line from last season. Leading sack man Leonard Floyd was released due to salary-cap restraints, joining former L.A. teammate Von Miller in Buffalo. Run-stuffing defensive tackle A'Shawn Robinson is with the New York Giants, while fellow defensive tackle Greg Gaines joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in free agency. Edge rusher Justin Hollins returned to the Green Bay Packers.

Those players will be replaced by little-known names like Marquise Copeland, Larrell Murchison, Jonah Williams, Bobby Brown III, Earnest Brown IV, Michael Hoecht and Daniel Hardy, along with rookies Byron Young, Kobie Turner and Desjuan Johnson.

Rams, Giants, Seahawks will make big leaps in 2023

"You always take the approach in training camp where you want to work from the ground up with your guys, in terms of rebuilding those techniques and base fundamentals," Henderson said when asked about working with a much younger group this year. "We don't take anything for granted in terms of the way we want to play in the run game and in our ability to transition to the rush and get after the quarterback."

Henderson continues to preach a "Dawg work" mentality, a lunch-pail approach to practice with Donald and the rest of the defensive line serving as the engine of the defense. Henderson said he and assistant defensive line coach AC Carter have come up with a few new wrinkles to keep things fresh for his group, though he politely declined to divulge what those new drills are.

But one thing that is noticeable is Henderson rotating a lot of players in with the starters, second and third group, looking to find the right combination and searching for the right chemistry.

And with the success that players like Floyd experienced playing alongside Donald, it's understandable that the younger players are salivating at the chance to play next to one of the best defensive linemen in the game's history.

"That makes for a lot of buy-in, especially for a lot of the younger guys that have watched the type of success those guys have had, playing in a lot of similar situations that they are doing now," Henderson said. "That alone serves as motivation for these guys. The opportunities are there for them."

The 32-year-old Donald remains the straw the stirs the drink in L.A.'s defense. Even with one of the NFL's best offensive masterminds in Sean McVay, the Rams have been led by a stingy defense over the years. Los Angeles had the No. 1-ranked defense in the league in the 2020 season. And during the team's Super Bowl victory, the defense held Joe Burrow and Cincinnati Bengals to just 20 points, including a pressure late in the game by Donald to force a bad throw and seal the win.

Even as the Rams struggled through a 5-12 campaign last season, the defense held opponents to a respectable 22.6 points per game.

The Rams are taking a different approach with Donald during training camp this year, treating the perennial All-Pro like other teams will in the regular season by double and triple-teaming him during 11-on-11 work.

"He's that good that I think most teams every week, the first thing that they talk about is, ‘Where's Waldo? Find 99. Make sure that you have an answer for him.'" McVay said. "That's what we would do if we played him, too. … If you don't, you get very unrealistic looks for some of the things that he's able to do from the rest of his teammates on the defensive side of the ball."

And while Donald might not be in favor of all the attention, he understands it will help him improve.

"The coaches told me they were going to slide every single play, so I was kind of mad because you want to be able to work different things," Donald said. "But it's realistic, so I appreciate [them] doing that for me, allowing me to make my job hard at practice and making me study a little longer at night.

"It isn't going to do nothing but make me better."

And after his worst season as a pro last year, finishing with a career-low five sacks, Donald is motivated.

"I've got a lot to prove," he said. "I didn't have the season I wanted, obviously coming off an injury and things like that. I feel like to get to where you need to be, it's like starting over from scratch again. It's a brand-new year.

"Last year was last year, but there's a little fire lit into me. … I'm trying to get back to where I want to be as a player, as a teammate, as a team overall, and that's been kind of pushing me a little bit."

Opponents beware.

Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter at @eric_d_williams.

FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience