Why Aaron Donald will guarantee success for 2020 LA Rams

All-Pro Aaron Donald sets the bar higher each season, in 2020 he will almost singlehandedly guarantee success for the LA Rams

The LA Rams are searching for someone in the 2020 NFL Free Agency market, or perhaps in the 2020 NFL Draft. In fact, the team has been searching for several years for this player. Or perhaps the concept?  However the team calls it, they have been searching for a player to team up with DT Aaron Donald.

Just one.

Over the years, the team has tried.  There was defensive end Robert Quinn, whose price tag became greater than the team could afford to line up next to Donald, and he was quietly traded to the Miami Dolphins. There was defensive end Ndamukong Suh, whose presence on the defensive line unleashed a 20 sack season out of Donald. But he too wanted more than the Rams were willing to pay. So his stay was just one season. The team has tried OLB Dante Fowler Jr. and defensive end Michael Brockers, but both seem destined to play elsewhere in 2020.

Does the perfect teammate exist in the NFL today?

I’m beginning to wonder if such a player truly exists. Many have argued that Aaron Donald attracts so much of the opposing offense’s attention, other players should be able to step up. But over the years, no other NFL player has done so. Is it simply that the Rams have just had a constant stream of bad luck?  Or have NFL offenses surrendered to the “Aaron Donald will be Aaron Donald” in their game planning, and have simply planned to do plays away from him whenever possible?

What are the LA Rams scheming for 2020?

Over time, the Rams have committed to lining up defensive strength to offensive strength, counting on the Rams winning the battle more than half the time. But offenses have become clever.  The best offenses in the NFL in 2019 were not the strongest, but the fastest.  NFL teams have learned not to fight Aaron Donald outright, but rather to run away from him.

And they are winning those battles.

Perhaps the most important person for LA Rams Aaron Donald will never wear shoulder pads. He could very well be newly hired defensive coordinator Brandon Staley.  After all, there is a strong case to be made that scheme trumps talent in the NFL.  If not, how do the New England Patriots win six Super Bowl rings in modern times, while the Cleveland Browns, who have picked the best from the college ranks for many years, do not?

DC Staley has worked with NFL greats at the edge in Von Miller and Khalil Mack. But neither Vic Fangio nor he had the talent of Aaron Donald before.  So this is all new territory in some ways. But Donald is versatile and can do so much from the point of attack on the line of scrimmage. A sharp defensive mind can use Donald to heap devastation upon the offense.

Can Aaron Donald deliver success singlehandedly?

The track record of Aaron Donald is pretty obvious. His first six NFL seasons have generated enough statistics to emulate the full and productive careers of an NFL defensive lineman. Yet Donald is only now entering the prime of his NFL career. His best is now.

What will that best mean for the LA Rams in 2020 on the defense?  In the right scheme, Donald’s production in a 3-4 can look like a 4-4 in the box stats.  A good defensive lineman generates 5.0 sacks and about 25 tackles.  An average year from Aaron Donald generates 12.0 sacks and about 52 tackles.

The team needn’t look for the perfect teammate for Aaron Donald.  Whoever plays beside him, or behind him, on the Rams defense will benefit from his incredible level of play.  But a better strategy for the Rams is to not expect Donald to raise the level of play from his teammates, but rather to expect his teammates to raise his level of play.

So the answer to the question of can Aaron Donald deliver success singlehandedly? No, he cannot. Football is still a team sport and these Rams will need the contribution of 53 players to achieve success.  Donald can certainly benefit from the help of his teammates. it’s up to the Rams newest coordinator on defense to make that happen.