7 LA Rams players happy to help Donald carry the load

Defender 5: DL Joseph-day

The LA Rams promoted defeensive lineman Sebastian Joseph Day in 2019 to join teammates Aaron Donald and Michael Brockers as a starter on the defensive line.  That was an NFL top-three defensive line in 2019, and it only got better in 2020.  For ‘Seabass’, the curious thing for his 2020 play is less-is-more.  What do we mean?

Thanks to a deeper defensive line, the Rams were able to play SJD fewer defensive snaps, but actually found him to have better production. In 69 fewer defensive snaps, he actually recorded 11 more tackles, while only recording one fewer quarterback sack. Before the season started, numerous reports indicated that SJD had arrived to training camp with more muscle mass, and a far more impressive physique. And whenever a Rams player shows signs of additional muscular definition, there is an automatic inferance of how does he measure up to Aaron Donald.

Versatile enough to play a multi-role function

While the LA Rams 6-foot-4 310-pound nose tackle has benefited greatly by playing just one primary position on the defensive line, he remains agile and strong enough to take on any role on the defensive line. For the season, his Pro Football Focus grade of 80.6 has been an outstanding accomplishment for the third year veteran drafted in round six of the 2018 NFL Draft with the 195th pick.

Does he have enough potential to pick up any slack from teammate Aaron Donald? You can bet he would love to do so. After all, this is merely his second NFL season of actual defensive snaps, and he has shown plenty of promise of being one of the NFL’s leading defensive linemen in the future.  He merely needs to improve on that pass rush. But he is a staunch run defender who plays his position with great discipline.