When the Los Angeles Rams’ all-world defensive tackle Aaron Donald retired after the 2023 season, a lot of fans worried about how the defense would survive in his absence. Turns out, they did just fine. Young stars like Kobie Turner, Jared Verse, and Braden Fiske stepped into the void, especially as pass rushers.
But their defense against the run did suffer a bit. The Rams went from being a top ten run defense, giving up just over 100 yards per game in 2023 to the bottom ten, ceding over 130 without Donald.
One of the steps taken by GM Les Snead to address that problem involved a former Seattle Seahawks fan favorite.