Looking Forward and Back: 2016-17 Los Angeles Rams Defensive Tackles

Aaron Donald (6’1” 285 lbs) Age: 24, Entering 3^rd Year as a Pro

He’s too small. He’ll be overwhelmed by bigger blockers. He “takes himself out of position to make a play”. All of these criticisms were quickly put to rest when Aaron Donald burst onto the NFL scene to win Defensive Rookie of the Year back in the 2014-15 season. That season, Donald totaled 48 tackles which included 9.0 sacks—absolutely monstrous stats for a defensive tackle, and especially for a rookie.

So what did Aaron Donald do in his second season? Experience a sophomore slump? Quite the contrary; he became the most dominant interior defensive lineman in the National Football League. First of all, his stats for the 2015-16 season were nothing short of impressive: he had 69 total tackles which included 22 tackles for loss (only trailing J.J. Watt and Khalil Mack) and 11.0 sacks.

Secondly, Aaron Donald’s 2015-16 season was given a perfect 99.9 rating according to Pro Football Focus’ grading system, beating every one of J.J. Watt’s historical seasons in this grading scale.

"“Donald leads all “true” interior players in both total pressures and defensive stops, and has played the run as well as anybody in football. His run-stop percentage (10.9 percent) ranks fifth in the NFL among defensive tackles, with three of four players above him run-stuffing specialists at nose tackle.” – Sam Monson, Pro Football Focus"

Aaron Donald may not have won Defensive Player of the Year because of J.J. Watt, but he’s only getting better and may eventually be one of the greatest defensive players to ever don the horns.

2016-17 Prediction for Aaron Donald

With this kind of production, it’s still hard to believe that Aaron Donald will only be entering his third season when the Rams begin playing in Los Angeles. His upward trend as an undersized defensive tackle is unprecedented, and I fully expect his 2016-17 season to be just as good if not better than last season.

If defensive end Robert Quinn is healthy for a full season and returns to his elite form, Aaron Donald’s overall play should improve with the help from the outside. However, his sack production may go down with Quinn stealing some pass-rushing opportunities away. Obviously, this is a good problem to have, but I wouldn’t expect more than 9.5 sacks for Donald—which is still an absolutely incredible number of sacks for an interior lineman.

In terms of run-defense, Donald should get around 60 tackles, especially if teams try to run on the outside to evade his presence. Luckily, edge defensive players like Robert Quinn and Mark Barron (assuming he re-signs with the team) should scare opposing running backs from off-tackle plays as well.

Alec Ogletree moving to middle linebacker after the James Laurinaitis cut may result in some leadership hiccups initially, but Ogletree had 42 tackles and 2.0 sacks before going down in Week 4 against the Arizona Cardinals. Without a doubt, Ogletree was one of the better linebackers in the first quarter of the 2015-16 season. As much as we loved James Laurinaitis for his displays of leadership and toughness on and off the field during his seven-year tenure in St. Louis, his release might be the best thing for the Rams’ rushing defense—which ranked 20^th in total rushing yards last season.

Aaron Donald is the best defensive tackle in the league, and will be competing with studs like JJ Watt and Khalil Mack for Defensive Player of the Year in 2016-17.

Next: Michael Brockers