Eight times in 10 seasons, Aaron Donald earned first-team All-Pro honors. The defensive tackle was 10-for-10 on Pro Bowls.
Donald, who announced his retirement this offseason, is in the conversation for best defensive player ever.
The Rams know they aren’t going to replace Donald with one player, which is why defensive coordinator Chris Shula has talked about a committee approach this season.
Defensive back Quentin Lake is confident the Rams have the right players to make up for Donald’s departure.
“Yeah, sometimes you talk about ‘Are you going to replace him,’ and as we know, you can’t replace him,” Lake said on NFL Network. “You can’t replace Aaron Donald. Aaron Donald is the greatest defensive player that we have seen, and Sean McVay talked about it, he said he was full, and [General Manager] Les Snead did a great job of finding guys to fit our scheme, our new defensive scheme. But Aaron Donald did a great job of making sure that the guys behind him and the guys that were with him were ready. Guys like Kobie Turner, guys like Bobby Brown, Byron Young, the young players, the young up and coming talented players are ready.
“And like I said, Les Snead and his staff did a great job of bringing in new players to upgrade and uplift our scheme, guys like Jared Verse, our first-round pick, and Braden Fiske, our second-round pick. These are guys that love the game, fit our culture, and I’m excited to see what they’re going to do.”
Brown and Turner are the expected starters at defensive tackle, and rookies and former Florida State teammates Braden Fiske and Jared Verse are part of the front seven.
The Rams finished 20th in yards (337.9) and 19th in points (22.2) last season.
