National Football League

Can Rams design revamped defense around greatness of Aaron Donald?

Updated Mar. 22, 2023 3:45 p.m. ET

The cap-strapped Los Angeles Rams will likely have nine key contributors from last year's defense moving on this offseason, including Pro Bowlers in cornerback Jalen Ramsey and inside linebacker Bobby Wagner, along with last year's leading sack guy Leonard Floyd.

However, Rams head coach Sean McVay said his squad's remodel includes building a defense around the team's remaining, foundational players on that side of the ball in perennial All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald and talented inside linebacker Ernest Jones.

But how much longer will Donald play (he turns 32 years old on May 21), and can he once again be the straw that stirs the drink defensively for Los Angeles?

Donald has two years left on a deal that will pay him $63.5 million in total compensation through 2024. The Pittsburgh product also has a no-trade clause. Donald finished 2022 on the injured reserve with a high-ankle sprain, missing the last six games of the regular season — the most games he has missed in one season during his nine-year NFL career.

[Reenergized Sean McVay focused on building Rams through the draft]

Per Next Gen Stats, the Rams finished with a 20.7 pressure rate when rushing only four rushers last season. Only the Chicago Bears were worse (19.3).

During the Super Bowl season for Los Angeles, the Rams finished with a 27.6 pressure rate during the regular season and a 33% pressure rate in the postseason.

Bottom line: For the Rams to get back to creating an effective pass rush with just four rushers along the defensive line, they need a healthy and motivated Donald.

"The great ones elevate people around them naturally," McVay said, when asked how core players like Donald would help others play better. "And it's not about bearing the weight of feeling like you have to do everything, it's as much your everyday approach, by your enjoyment for this game and by you playing the way that you're capable of — by you just being who you are consistently in the meetings and on the practice field. And then when the games come about, I believe good things will happen with those guys around them. Our job is to figure out how can we surround them."

Most of L.A.'s starting secondary will not return, with Ramsey traded to the Miami Dolphins and safety Taylor Rapp looking for a new home in free agency, along with slot defender Troy Hill.

Leading tackler and green dot communicator Wagner mutually agreed to part ways and Floyd was released. With limited cap space to acquire productive players in free agency, the Rams will have to fill the void defensively with young players already on the roster or in this year's draft.

Change in Rams' plans?

The Rams continue to clean house defensively. Colin Cowherd explains why this shows they are shifting to spending more on offense this time.

And Los Angeles will have to lean on experienced coaches on the defensive side of the ball to get the most out of those young players, including defensive coordinator Raheem Morris, defensive line coach Eric Henderson, defensive backs coach Aubrey Pleasant and linebackers coach Chris Shula.

However, a lot of pressure will be on Donald to command double teams, be stout in the running game and create consistent pressure in the passing game.

The Rams finished with 22 takeaways last season, tied for No. 17 in the league and also tied for the lowest number during the McVay era with the Rams.

L.A.'s 38 sacks was tied for 22nd in the league last season. Donald finished with five sacks in 11 games, his lowest sack total since registering eight sacks in 2016.

If the Rams were playing a game today, starting next to Donald would be Bobby Brown III and Jonah Williams along the defensive line, with Michael Hoecht and Daniel Hardy at outside linebacker.

Not including Donald, those players have a combined five career sacks. So, it's important for Los Angeles to add some talented pass-rushers through the draft or undervalued options in the second wave of free agency.

Defense was not the issue for the Rams in 2022. Last season, the Rams held teams to a respectable 22.6 points per contest. Los Angeles just couldn't consistently put enough points on offense to compete on a weekly basis during the team's disappointing 5-12 campaign.

For his part, McVay is taking on the challenge of building a competent defense with little resources with his eyes open.

"While there are going to be a lot of tough decisions, I don't expect to not try to put together the most competitive roster that we can do," McVay said. "Or that we can be able to establish and develop, and then let's go see what happens. We do expect to be able to have some really core pieces that you're not asking them to be anybody but themselves, and then there will be a need to develop and go with some younger guys through the draft and through undrafted free agency and have a little bit different approach.

"But those were things that we kind of have known. You work through it and really you try to just be intentional about, ‘All right, what do we really have to do?' And when some of these decisions have to be made just based on those parameters, you have nothing to do but be able to move forward."

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.

Top stories from FOX Sports: