Rams’ 23 most important players for 2023

Rams’ 23 most important players for 2023 – No. 2: DT Aaron Donald

Aaron Donald has been the centerpiece of the Rams’ defense for years, but his importance to the team was taken up a notch this offseason when Los Angeles purged its roster of some premier defenders. Jalen Ramsey, Bobby Wagner, Leonard Floyd, A’Shawn Robinson and Greg Gaines are all gone, leaving Donald as the lone Pro Bowler on that side of the ball.

Donald is returning from ankle surgery, which he underwent last year. He was excused from minicamp, so we don’t exactly know how far along in his rehab he is, but all signs point toward Donald being 100% for Week 1.

As training camp is set to begin, Donald remains one of the Rams’ most important players.

2022 stats

11 games
49 tackles, 10 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble
5 sacks, 11 QB hits
40 total pressures (PFF)
90.5 overall grade (PFF)

Position group

Donald truly doesn’t have a lot of help around him on defense, specifically along the D-line. With Gaines and Robinson gone, the Rams will have two new starters up front next to Donald. It just remains to be seen who those players will be.

Bobby Brown III is a natural choice at nose tackle, given his size, while Marquise Copeland seems to have a good shot to be the defensive end after earning a contract extension this offseason. Jonah Williams is also in the mix, as are rookies Kobie Turner and Desjuan Johnson.

Donald is going to play just about every snap this season, as long as he’s healthy, and the Rams don’t have much reason to rotate him in and out unless he’s truly gassed because without him on the field, they’re going to struggle to pressure the quarterback.

2023 outlook

You can bet Donald is motivated and determined to bounce back from his first season ever where he missed time with an injury. Not that he’s someone who ever needs added motivation, but the fire is absolutely still there.

With so many pieces gone on defense, even more attention will be paid to Donald up front. He could face double-teams more often than he has in the past, which is hard to imagine.

As unimpressive as Donald’s totals look last season – only five sacks in 11 games – he was still very disruptive and effective on the interior. One injury-shortened season shouldn’t cause anyone to sell stock in the future Hall of Famer. He should rebound with yet another 10-sack season in 2023.