Friends help LA Rams Aaron Donald land NFC Defensive Player of the Month

The Von Miller effect?

Much of the LA Rams roster assembly has been a work-in-process throughout the 2021 NFL Season. We haven’t talked much about the fact that nose tackle Sebastion Joseph Day was injured and lost to the team for the season. That forced the Rams to tighten their defensive line rotation, and rely exclusively on Gaines to step up.  And he did, gradually making plays and impacting games in a positive way.

But in the last five games?  He has brought down the opposing quarterback for 3.0 QB sacks, recorded 25 tackles, recorded three tackles for a loss, and even gotten seven quarterback hits in. That’s a span of Pro Bowler performance.

This D has Donald’s back

It’s not often that we talk about Aaron Donald benefiting from the play of his teammates. But in this case, I think that there is enough evidence to mention the fact that the arrival of Von Miller and the corresponding surge in Greg Gaines’s performance has indeed taken some of the pressure off Aaron Donald.

We had suggested when the LA Rams traded for Von Miller that his arrival could unlock the potential of Aaron Donald, and even named that as the Von Miller effect. Much like the performance of Aaron Donald when playing alongside Ndamukong Suh, Donald’s pace since lining up next to Miller projects to a full season of 17 quarterback sacks, 100 tackles, 28 tackles for a loss, and five forced fumbles. That compares very similarly to his 2018 career-best season.

That’s why the LA Rams will make an effort to extend Von Miller. Not just for what Miller does on defense, but rather how well Aaron Donald plays when he lines up next to him.