With no Aaron Donald, Rams must make a move for defensive star

Rams must consider trade for Haason Reddick after Aaron Donald retirement

The outlook for the Los Angeles Rams defense changed significantly on Friday when Aaron Donald announced his retirement from the NFL. It was thought that Donald would at least return for 2024, if not 2025, as the Rams looked to make one final push with their three pillars as described by general manager Les Snead. However, that will obviously not be the case.

As it stands, the Rams now have a bit of a predicament that they will need to figure out. Top defensive free agents are no longer available and without Aaron Donald, there is a huge hole that needs filled on defense. Obviously, the Rams aren’t going to replace Donald, but they need to be able to get an experienced player with star power that can hold and create on their own.

Throughout Donald’s career, the Aaron Donald effect was a real thing as offensive coordinators game-planned around him. This would typically leave players with open rush lanes to the quarterback or with one-on-one opportunities that they may not have gotten otherwise.

A perfect example of this was the 2019 season in which Dante Fowler Jr. had 11.5 sacks. After leaving for the Atlanta Falcons in free agency, Fowler had 7.5 sacks over the next two years combined. Fowler was a former first-round pick that had underperformed in Jacksonville before finding success playing next to Donald with the Rams.

There’s another player currently available that matches that same prototype in Chase Young. While Young would give the Rams some firepower on the edge, he hasn’t necessarily been a player that’s proven to be able to create on his own. He disappointed last year following being traded to the San Francisco 49ers. In Weeks 10-17, Young had just 24 pressures which was tied for 30th and his win percentage of 11.1 percent ranked 39th. This was all while playing on one of the more talented defensive fronts in the NFL.

It’s true that the Rams also have the 19th overall pick and could take an edge rusher in the first-round. With that said, it’s hard to say how much of an immediate impact a rookie pass-rusher could have without Donald helping create opportunities.

Since 2020, there have been 12 edge rushers drafted between picks 15 and 32 in the first round of the draft. Only two of those players have eclipsed five sacks and 40 pressures. It’s worth noting that last season, Byron Young had eight sacks and 51 pressures after being drafted in the third round while benefitting from the Donald effect.

Here is the list of edge rushers drafted in the first round between picks 15 and 32 and their sack/pressure production as rookies:

• Will McDonald: 3 sacks, 12 pressures
• Myles Murphy: 3 sacks, 15 pressures
• Felix Anudike-Uzomah: 0.5 sacks, 11 pressures
• Jermaine Johnson: 2.5 sacks, 14 pressures
• George Karlaftis: 6 sacks, 49 pressures
• Jaelan Phillips: 6.5 sacks, 39 pressures
• Kwity Paye: 4 sacks, 39 pressures
• Payton Turner: 1 sack, 10 pressures
• Greg Rousseau: 4 sacks, 36 pressures
• Odafe Oweh: 5 sacks, 49 pressures
• Joe Tryon: 4 sacks, 33 pressures
• K’Lavon Chaisson: 1 sack, 29 pressures

If the Rams were to draft an edge rusher like Jared Verse, Laiatu Latu, or Chop Robinson in the first round, they are likely looking at a five sack season for that player. It’s true that a lot of the players on this list took a year two jump. For example, Karlaftis jumped from six sacks to 10.5 this season. Paye had gradually improved from four sacks to six and most recently 8.5 in 2023. Rousseau doubled his rookie total in year two with eight sacks.

However, unless the Rams are using 2024 as a re-tool year on defense, they need more immediate production off the edge with a proven player. That really only leaves one option following the trade of Brian Burns to the New York Giants. Again, unless the Rams are re-tooling the defense following Donald’s retirement, trading for an experienced player off the edge like Haason Reddick who has double digit sacks in each of the past four seasons is the only logical move.

The Eagles signed Bryce Huff in free agency and opted to extend Josh Sweat. General manager Howie Roseman and the Eagles front office have already given Reddick permission to facilitate a trade.

The Eagles have Sweat, Huff, and drafted Nolan Smith last year. Given Reddick has been given permission to seek a trade, it’s highly unlikely that he is back in Philadelphia. With the Rams’ need for a star-level pass rusher, Reddick is the only legitimate option that is available. The cost to acquire him also shouldn’t be too much. Only a bidding war between another team in need of an edge rusher would complicate that.

Last year was seen as a down year for Reddick and he still ended up with 11 sacks. Reddick’s true sack score of 9.0 ranked 16th in the NFL last season, but six of those sacks were considered high quality according to Trench Warfare. Reddick is an elite player at a premium position. Again, since moving to edge rusher fill time, he has double-digit sacks in every season. The only players with more sacks over that period are TJ Watt, Myles Garrett, and Trey Hendrickson. This is a player that has shown that he can create pressure on his own.

If the Rams were to trade for Reddick, they would likely also have to give him a contract. However, that contract would almost definitely line up with other contracts that they’ve handed out recently with a maximum of three years on the length. Reddick fits that current timeline.

The Rams won’t be replacing Donald, even if they were to trade for a player like Reddick. However, Reddick would at least give that pass-rush productivity immediately and fill those shoes much quicker than a potential rookie. If the Rams are looking to fill the void left by Donald, they are better off doing so with an experienced, star-caliber player like Reddick if the goal is still to compete for a Super Bowl over the next two years.