Who will the LA Rams promote to the defensive line in 2021?

The LA Rams starters on their defensive line are presumably Aaron Donald, Sebastian Joseph-Day, and A’Shawn Robinson. And I admittedly have not gone very far out on a limb there, as this was the plan for 2020 when the Rams allowed both Michael Brockers and Morgan Fox to test their value in the NFL free agency market before re-signing both.

Now, the real question is, who are their backups?  After all, the team has a tight rotation a year ago with those five players plus defensive tackle Greg Gaines. So tight was that rotation that for the most part, the defensive line played strong and healthy for nearly the entire season. It was not until the Wild Card round of the NFL Playoffs that the LA Rams lost the dominance of All-Pro defensive lineman Aaron Donald. As the Rams took the field the following week to face the Green Bay Packers in Lambeau Field, the injury to Donald was an obvious handicap.

Of course, Greg Gaines will most certainly be in the rotation. He proved that he can hold his own against some of the toughest offensive linemen in the NFL.  So the Rams have four defensive line spots accounted for. Now, who fills their final two spots?

That’s where the pavement ends. From this point forward, it’s all dirt road.

Who is promoted to the defensive line for 2021?

The Rams have four players currently on the roster, and for all intents and purposes, the team could decide to go ‘as is’ for the 2021 NFL Season.  It would give DL Eric Banks, Marquise Copeland, Michael Hoecht, and Jonah Williams a 50/50 shot of not only making the roster but at carving out a niche in the defensive line rotation.  Of the group, the team did start the 2020 season with Eric Banks on the active 53-man roster and did activate Marquise Copeland for the season opener against the Dallas Cowboys.

Based on the team’s veterans, the Rams defense appears to be leaning more towards rounding out the roster with tallish defensive ends who can get to the quarterback. That would seem to favor players in this order:

I   – 6-foot-4 310-pound defensive lineman Michael Hoecht, who chalked up 16.5 sacks in college.
II  – 6-foot-5 275-pound defensive lineman Jonah Williams, who recorded 15 sacks in college.
III – 6-foot-2 285-pound defensive lineman Marquise Williams, who put up 8.5 sacks in college
IV – 6-foot-4 270-pound defensive lineman Eric Banks, who put up 6.5 sacks in college

Of course, that was then and this is now. Clearly, the Rams have two spots that are currently up for grabs, and that makes the odds pretty good for each of the current players to earn a spot. But the Rams are looking to add competition to the position from the 2021 NFL Draft, and that will play a significant part in how the competition plays out this year.

We’ll revisit this again, and likely several times I believe that the Rams will continue to emphasize elite play at the defensive line in order to ensure a strong defense for years to come.