Los Angeles Rams need players to step up while Aaron Donald holds out

For the second straight season, Aaron Donald is holding out of training camp with the Los Angeles Rams in hopes to receive a new deal.

Aaron Donald has been a no-show for the Los Angeles Rams at training camp so far, as the defensive star continues to fight for a new contract. Donald has been searching for a new contract since last season, but has yet to reach a conclusion with the Rams organization.

Again, we don’t know any numbers involved in his negotiations, but it’s safe to say it’s going to cost Los Angeles an arm and a leg to get him signed.

According to Adam Schefter, Donald will not play another down for the Rams until he receives the deal he desires.

If this is truly the case, the Rams will need someone to fill in for Donald while he continues his holdout. That’s not an easy task to do.

The first guy who could step in is John Franklin-Myers, who was the 135th pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. Myers played football at Stephen F. Austin in college. As it’s probably been said before, Myers’ high school team went 0-40 while he attended there. This likely is the reason he flew under the radar heading into college.

At Stephen F. Austin in 2017, Myers started in 10 out of 11 games while leading his team in tackles for loss (13.5). After he was drafted, I got to talk a bit with the Rams fourth round draft pick and he expects to be used as a “5 technique” defensive lineman. (check out the Q&A here). A 5-technique in defensive lineman terms, is when the defensive lineman is lined up outside the offensive tackle’s shoulder.

So in essence, Myers expects to be a 3-4 defensive end in the Rams defense. Although, if Donald is out, Myers could be asked to move to the interior part of the line. Myers was reportedly taking first team reps at training camp in Donald’s absence.

This is a huge nod to the Rams rookie, but it is way too early to tell if Myers is in sole position to acquire the starting spot in training camp.

The second guy who could step in is Tanzel Smart. Smart was drafted in the sixth round by the Rams in 2017 after playing his college football at Tulane.

In his junior and senior season at Tulane, Smart racked up 33 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks. That’s pretty impressive for a guy drafted in the sixth round.

Smart did play in a couple of games for the Rams last year, so he definitely has the edge over Myers with experience in Wade Phillips‘ defense. In those games, Smart totaled nine tackles and a pass deflection.

If Donald doesn’t suit up in Week 1, I’d venture to say that Myers will likely be the starter. Myers definitely has a chip on his shoulder stemming from high school and will likely have the green light from the Rams staff.

Of course, it is impossible to replace the production of Donald, but the Rams definitely have a couple of options who could take advantage of a huge opportunity.

In all honesty, hopefully this article means nothing. I sanguinely believe the Rams get a deal done with their All-Pro defensive tackle and we get the fairy tale ending to this drawn out saga.