Rams relentless pass rush has found its stride at the perfect time

The LA Rams pass rush ended the 2024 NFL regular season with 38 quarterback sacks. That number was only good enough to place the Rams pass rushers in as the 21st-ranked defense in terms of quarterback sacks in the entire NFL. Well, hold that thought. The same Rams defense lit up Minnesota Vikings starting quarterback Sam Darnold for nine quarterback sacks. That ties an NFL record for most sacks recorded in a single NFL playoff game:

So which is it? Are the Rams for real as a pass rush that can get after the quarterback? Or is this a matter of a broken clock being correct twice in a 24 hour period? To understand the Rams pass rush, we have to understand how the Rams front office constructed the defensive front for new LA Rams Defensive Coordinator Chris Shula.

Then, you decide.

When the LA Rams ended their 2023 NFL Season with a Wild Card loss in the 2024 NFL Playoffs to the Detroit Lions in Detroit, the team was instantly confronted with several changes to the Rams roster and coaching staff that would change the trajectory of the team. In that game, the team lost by the oh-so-close score of 24-23. The team managed three quarterback sacks against Lions QB Jared Goff: 2.0 QB sacks from ILB Ernest Jones, 0.5 QB sacks from OLB Byron Young, and 0.5 QB sacks from NT Kobie Turner.

And then, everything changed. All-Pro defensive lineman Aaron Donald, an impact player on the team's defensive front, announced his retirement. Simultaneously, DC Raheem Morris signed on as the next head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, The Rams opted not to extend defensive end Jonah Williams. And for the piece de resistance, the team traded defensive standout LB Ernest Jones for next to nothing.

And on top of everything else, the team hired new Defensive Coordinator Chris Shula. Good luck with managing and addressing all of those holes in your newly formed defense, Chris.

It all started in the 2023 NFL Draft

If the Rams were forced to rebuild the defense from scratch starting in 2024, the team would be hard pressed to make any amount of progress this season. But this team seems to be playing chess, infusing strategy over reaction, succession planning over filling holes. It was Aaron Donald who enlightened the Rams front office when they approached him about restocking the roster. His response may be as great of a legacy as his performance on the football field:

Rams GM Les Snead shared the tale with Good Morning Football host Peter Schrager:

"I'll partner with anybody. Just make sure they care."

Aaron Donald

It seems so profound, and yet, so simple. Was it a revelation for the team's scouting department, or simply confirmation to what the team and personnel executives already knew and embraced? It's difficult for me, or anyone, to compare what the game plan was for the team in the past. But from the moment that Donal spoke those words, the front office has a new compass point. And it multiple videos about the team's draft process after the fact, we can point out the team's referring to the North Star when assessing rookie prospects.

Some organizations create a mission statement that reads well on the bulletin board, but the underlying principles are so dogmatic and laden with language that it carries no meaning into the workspace. But the words of Aaron Donald carried meaning from the boardroom to the bathroom. Wrapped in those simple words was a litmus test that anyone in the organization could apply to anything they do.

When people care, they get the job done. This reads more than an individual standard, but a standard to hold the entire organization to task. So when the Rams front office selected Tennessee outside linebacker Byron Young and Wake Forest nose tackle Kobie Turner in Round 3 of the 2023 NFL Draft, some draft experts were a bit surprised. Even Rams fans who boast about their draft scouting abilities were not warm to their arrival. But by season's end, the Rams boasted two rookies who led the entire NFL with quarterback sacks in 2023. Turner clocked in with 9.0 sacks, and Young ended with 8.0 quarterback sacks

Of course, both rookies benefited from the performance and tutelage of veteran DT Aaron Donald. But he retired, and the team's pass rush faced huge question marks and few answers. But the team was still armed with two sensational rookies, the wisdom of Aaron Donald, and a front office that thinks outside the box. So 2024 was certainly a year of change.

The Young and the Rest(less)

We tend to gravitate to the players on a roster whose statistics that are easily tracked spike. That makes NFL players who land among the top players in the NFL with interceptions and quarterback sacks household names. But defensive coaches and players know and understand the vital relationship required among players to fill their specific roles to allow players to shine with those limited but publicly tracked statistics.

For every pass rusher, someone has to apply blanket pass coverage to force quarterbacks to hestitate throwing the football. For every run stuffing linebacker, there must be a blocker-gobbler defensive lineman who occupies two or more offensive lineman at the line of scrimmage, allowing the linebacker an unfettered path to the ball carrier.

For every strong passing quarterback, there is an unheralded offensive line that keeps him protected.

When the LA Rams drafted rookie outside linebacker Byron Young from the University of Tennessee in Round 3 of the 2023 NFL Draft, they were taking a risk. Some draft analysts cited his age as a reason to hesitate selecting him. Younger players tend to have longer careers. and are viewed as more coachable. The Rams had attempted to infuse young players into their pass rush, and had failed. But Byron Young was different.

He was 25 when selected by the LA Rams. And he cares. His NFL Draft profile highlighted that fact:

"
He really appreciates every second he is on the field and our coaches would love that. He probably ends up standing, but I think he’ll be better with a hand in the ground.
"

Regional AFC team scout

Byron Young met and forged an immediate bond with fellow rookie NT Kobie Turner. Young was the strong and silent type. Turner was the opposite, a chatty and jovial teammate who loudly and proudly embrace the team's high standards of grinding relentlessly to prepare themselves for the NFL regular season. Those preparations and training clearly worked, as both Young and Turner excelled instantly.

Of course, it's easy to look good playing alongside All-Pro defensive lineman Aaron Donald. Many NFL veterans had done so in the past, spiked their production, signed lucrative contracts elsewhere, but fade back to competent but not elite production off the edge.

The Rams rookie duo was somehow different. They played out of the love of the game. And their sensational rookie season was so good that they prompted the front office to think outside the box. What would the defense do if the team could land a second set of high-performing rookies in the 2024 NFL Draft?

Rams risky draft maneuver pays off in playoff jackpot

I won't pretend to assert that the LA Rams wanted to focus on the defensive line in Round 1 of the 2024 NFL Draft. We knew before the draft that the Rams were extremely interested in Georgia TE Brock Bowers, and attempted to trade up to be in a position to select him. Even after Bowers was off the board, the team attempted to trade up, with many post-draft articles suggesting that the team targeted Texas rookie DT Byron Murphy II.

Neither scenario played out. The Rams ultimately stayed at 19, and in Round 1 selected outstanding Florida State outside linebacker Jared Verse. Verse was viewed by many draft analysts as the complete package, a plug-and-play rookie who possessed the passion, power, and persona of an NFL veteran edge rusher right out of the gates. In fact, in many mock drafts, he was off the board within the first 10 selections.

So yes, the team landed an elite prospect far later in the draft than expected.

But the front office was not done yet. After an incredible haul on Day 1, the Rams recognized that Verse's brother-in-arms, Seminoles DT Braden Fiske, remained on the draft board. So when Day 2 opened, the Rams scrambled to trade up in Round 2. The cost seemed quite prohibitive when the Rams negotiated a deal with the Caroline Panthers. The Rams would get the 39th pick of the 2024 NFL Draft. The Panthers got the 52nd overall pick and a Round 5 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, plus a Round 2 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

The Rams front office effectively duplicated their success in the 2023 NFL Draft by selecting two outstanding defenders from the same college team in the 2024 NFL Draft. And while it confused some draft analysts, it was the worst-kept secret in the NFL.

The Rams defense did not burst onto the scene this season. In the first five games of the season, the Rams defense could only record 9.0 quarterback sacks.

But this was a young defense. Inexperienced pass rushers need time to develop. It didn't help that the early games included a rather ineffective Rams secondary. So quarterbacks did not hesitate to get rid of the football.

Fast forward to the Wild Card Round of the 2025 NFL Playoffs, and the same team that needed five games to reach nine quarterback sacks is getting to the quarterback nine times in one game. That is good enough to tie an NFL Playoffs record:

In one game, the Rams' pass rush elevated its game from chasing opposing quarterbacks to sacking opposing quarterbacks. And after the Wild Card Round of the 2025 NFL Playoffs, the Rams lead all NFL teams in that statistic. When I say lead, I mean more than twice the number of quarterback sacks of the second-place pass rush. The Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans share second place, each with four quarterback sacks respectively.

This was not an anomaly. Like a volcano with pressure building that suddenly erupts, the Rams pass rush has been getting better and better:

The Rams pass rush remains young and light on experience. So the team could just as quickly struggle to get quarterback sacks in the Divisional Round of the 2025 NFL Draft. But with each game, with each new challenge, this defense is gaining experience and learning how to succeed.

The Rams lost to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 2 of the 2024 NFL season by a score of 41-10. The team won the rematch by a score of 13-9. The Rams lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 12 by a score of 37-20. Will the Eagles find the going as easy in Round 2?

I suspect that this young and restless Rams defensive front has something to say about that.

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