For the first time since 2013, Aaron Donald won’t be suiting up for the Rams. He retired after 10 seasons, leaving the game of football as one of the best to ever take the field.
Despite the fact that he won’t be playing for the team anymore, he’s still going to pay close attention to them. Donald is excited to watch them play this season and feels they have a good chance to contend in 2024.
He’s particularly confident in the offense, especially after re-signing Kevin Dotson and bringing in Jonah Jackson to improve the O-line.
“I think we got a great offense. We got a great offense. I think they just added, as far as beefing up the offensive line to help with the running game and protecting Stafford,” Donald said on “Green Light with Chris Long” this week. “I think they’ve still got some key pieces at wide receiver. They’ve still got Cooper Kupp, they’ve still got Puka. They got Robinson, they brought him back. They’ve got some good pieces.”
He does believe the Rams could stand to add help at one position, though. During his chat with Long, Donald said he’d like to see Los Angeles add an edge rusher to round out the defense – either a proven veteran or a prospect in the draft.
It’s similar to the feeling many fans have right now, knowing the outside linebacker group is the weakest on the roster.
“On defense, I think we’ve got good guys on the end but I think we can help with some edge help and I think they did (well) as far as bringing some corners in and some guys in the secondary to help,” he continued. “I think they’re in a good position right now. If anything, if I was to say one thing the Rams need just a little bit of help with, I would say just the edge rusher. Just getting an extra edge rusher, some guy that’s got some experience or find a good guy in the draft that can get it done. You see what we did in the draft last year, nobody expected us to be the team (we were) and a lot of the rookies end up making names for themselves and dominating, so if you get another piece like that that can help on the edge, I think the Rams are going to be a great team. it’s going to be fun to watch. I’m excited to watch the Rams play this year. I’m not going to be out there but I just feel like they’re going to have a lot of success, I really do. I think they’ve got all the pieces they need. Add a piece here as far as the edge guy and then they made some moves to help them get better.”
The Rams have all but ignored the outside linebacker position in the last two offseasons, with the exception of selecting Byron Young in Round 3 and adding Nick Hampton and Ochaun Mathis later in the draft. Young and Michael Hoecht are the projected starters once again in 2024, but edge rusher should be the team’s top priority in the draft.
The pass rush as a whole will have a tougher time generating pressure now without Donald drawing double-teams every snap, so the Rams have to address this hole sooner rather than later.
