PFF says this Rams positional group is among most improved in draft…

PFF says this Rams positional group is among the most improved from draft
The Rams have revamped their defensive line over last two draft cycles

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JB Scott



While much of the talk surrounding the Los Angeles Rams leading up to the draft was how the team wanted to trade up for another offensive weapon for Sean McVay, the team instead invested most of their draft capital in adding talent to their defense.

Lengthy and powerful edge rusher Jared Verse was LA’s first selection at pick 19 on Thursday evening. The Rams landed his pass rushing counterpart and college teammate, Braden Fiske, just 24 hours later at the top of the second round. The two former Florida State Seminoles should boost Los Angeles’ pass rush and complement the two standouts from their 2023 draft class: OLB Byron Young and DT Kobie Turner.

LA also added depth to the defensive line in the mid-rounds with OLB Brennan Jackson and DT Tyler Davis.

It seems Pro Football Focus (PFF) agrees with that sentiment. Trevor Sikkema, PFF’s lead draft analyst, ranked the most and least improved units across the NFL following the draft. He called the Rams’ defensive line among the most improved despite the team needing to replace legendary defensive end Aaron Donald:

LOS ANGELES RAMS DEFENSIVE LINE

Replacing Donald with one player is impossible, but the Rams did well to acquire enough talent to soften the blow a bit.

One of the sayings that we heard all offseason for the Rams was that they can’t replace Aaron Donald. The Rams certainly believed that to be true, and their response was to draft a plethora of new defensive linemen. They drafted Jared Verse in the first, traded up for Braden Fiske in the second, then brought in Brennan Jackson and Tyler Davis on Day 3. Combine those four with Kobie Turner and Byron Young from last year’s draft, and you have a completely new defensive line in Los Angeles.

It’s clear that improving the defense was a primary focus of the offseason for the Rams. They also added two new starters at outside corner in Darious Williams and Tre White. Kamren Curl was another veteran free agent addition and LA drafted Kamren Kinchens late in the third round to bolster the secondary. Virtually the only defensive position group that was not notably invested in was off-ball linebacker. Ernest Jones is in a contract year in 2024 and could hit the free agent market after the season.

Do you agree with PFF that the Rams’ defensive line is among the most improved units in football? Was there another position group you would have liked to see the Rams invest more draft capital in, such as receiver, corner, or offensive line? Let’s discuss in the comments.