Do the St. Louis Rams have A Top 5 Defense?

At the start of the 2014 NFL season, the St. Louis Rams had the youngest team in the league. In fact, the Rams were recorded as the youngest team each of the past three years. No official stats have been released heading into 2015, but the Rams are likely still the youngest team in the league.

As far as the defense goes, this same unit has been together for a while now, which is something you want. Regardless of age, the ability to gel as a unit is more important than anything.

The Rams still hold nine players on defense from 2012 including Robert Quinn, Chris Long, James Laurinaitis, Janoris Jenkins and Jo-Lonn Dunbar. Six of the eight players are starters for the Rams heading into 2015.

Since then, the Rams have added one of the best young defensive tackles in the NFL, Aaron Donald as well as linebacker Alec Ogletree at cornerback E.J Gaines. The Rams also start two very solid safeties. Strong Safety T.J McDonald who was drafted in 2013 and free safety Rodney McLeod who has made a good impact in the past two seasons.

In the offseason, the Rams brought in 25-year-old Akeem Ayers who is likely to see playing time at outside linebacker as well.

Now for everyone’s favorite part, team stats!

In 2014, the Rams ranked 17th in the NFL in total yards allowed with 5626 yards. They ranked 19th against the pass and 14th against the run.

In 2013, the Rams ranked 15th in total yards with 5520, 19th against the pass, and 9th against the run.

So, with all of this great talent, why aren’t the Rams ranked in the top 10 in the NFL? The Arizona Cardinals ranked 6th in total yards in 2013 and 24th in 2014.

The San Francisco 49ers ranked 5th in 2013 and 5th in 2014.

And lastly, the Seattle Seahawks ranked first in the NFL in 2013 and first in 2014 as well.

With the exception of Arizona a year ago, Every other team in the NFC West has flourished on defense in the last two seasons. The Rams have had one of the toughest schedules in the NFL for the past few years as well, which may be the reason why the numbers are not translating into what we all want to see, but the other teams in the division see the same teams that St. Louis sees.

The Rams are really strong up front. Their front seven is a top 10 unit in the NFL without a doubt. But, their secondary is what has held them back. Jenkins seems to position himself very poorly while Gaines still is very young. McLeod and McDonald have had solid careers up to this point, but will need to do a better job of helping out their corners in order to take this defense to the next level.

This unit will be heading into their fourth year together and will hope to solidify themselves as one of the best defenses in the NFL.

But, a top five defense? Not at the moment.