Rams front seven ranked 10th best in the league by NFL.com's Gregg Rosenthal
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theramswire.usatoday.com]
Tanya Ray Fox
The Rams have had their struggles over the years, and there are still a lot of improvements to be made – but their defensive line is perhaps the one area on their roster than doesn’t have a major question mark lingering over it.
They were already shaping up nicely last season, led by stud defensive tackle Aaron Donald. Now with Wade Phillips at the helm, and with the addition of veteran Connor Barwin, they don’t just look good – they look really good.
Here are the “seven key cogs,” as NFL.com’s Gregg Rosenthal describes them in his breakdown of the best front sevens in the NFL: Donald, Robert Quinn, Michael Brockers, Alec Ogletree, Mark Barron, Dominique Easley and Barwin.
The Rams group ranked 10th on the list of 12, and although Rosenthal sees a line that still has to prove themselves in a newsystem, he’s encouraged by Phillips’ reputation for turning things around.
Via NFL.com:
“Donald will become one of the highest-paid defensive players in NFL history soon, an honor he richly deserves. The rest of his Rams defensive teammates have been living off reputation and Gregg Williams quotes for too long.
Brockers and Easley form an intriguing duo inside, but they combined to play fewer than 900 snaps last season. Quinn was last a consistent force in 2014 — and his 2013 season, when he was a Defensive Player of the Year candidate, stands out as an anomaly in his career.
It remains to be seen how Ogletree and Barron fit into Wade Phillips’ defense, but the Son of Bum always finds a way.”
It’s worth noting that ranked at No. 8 are the crosstown rival Los Angeles Chargers, whose front seven boasts NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, Joey Bosa – as well as Melvin Ingram, Corey Liuget, Denzel Perryman, Brandon Mebane, Kyle Emanuel, Jatavis Brown.
