"... but the defense didn’t improve at any position."
Comments like this discount the improvements players can make from one year to the next. Will Williams in his 4th year (2nd as a starter) be better than the 2020 version? How about Floyd in his second year in the Rams' system? Last year's rookies - Burgess, Banks, Fuller, Hughes, Lewis, Reed, and Rozeboom - shouldn't they as a group show more this year? Same for 2nd year players Copeland and Moncrief, perhaps even 3rd year pros Gaines, Gervase, Hollins, Long, Rapp, Reeder, Scott, Joseph-Day, Kiser, Lawler, Obo, Young.
And, of course, Howard coming back to claim his starting spot.
Clearly a lot of talent walked out the door this offseason, but there are guys on the roster who will step up this year and help fill the void. Obviously not everyone of the guys I mentioned is a budding all-pro, but I listed 24 guys above. If most (16? 18?) are better this year than last year then it will certainly ease the sting of those FA losses.
AlbaNY_Ram