Rams in review: defensive line

ESPN

Aaron Donald (48 tackles, 9 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 1 pass knockdown) – A

For (at least) the second straight year, the best player on the team was a defensive lineman, and a rookie at that, Donald also rightfully took home the league’s Defensive Rookie of the Year honor. His phenomenal explosion and quickness off the snap made him the team’s best run defender and one of its sack leaders. Donald seemed to spend entire games in the opposing backfield at times, and didn’t just beat up on bad offensive lines getting there. Philadelphia, San Francisco, Arizona, Denver, Oakland and Washington and Seattle were all victims of Donald’s dominating play. And he didn’t appear to wear down at the end of the season. Donald’s Pro Bowl selection this year may be the first of many.

Let me add here that I am stunned the NFL, NFL.com at least, does not track tackles for loss. We know Donald had a boatload of them.

Robert Quinn (46 tackles, 10.5 sacks, 5 forced fumbles, 6 passes knocked down) – B

I’m all over the place on Quinn, but a B feels about right. On the down side, he was all but invisible the first five weeks, and his run defense declined as he pressed and overpursued plays trying to get his sack count going. And seven of his sacks came in three games, so even when he got hot the second half of the season, he wasn’t consistent. However, for Quinn to get as much accomplished as he did in 2014 while blockers double-teamed him a lot of the season and held him for most of it speaks to his ability.

Chris Long (5 tackles, 1 sack in 6 starts) – C-

Lost season for the leader on the line. Got his ankle stepped on the first week and missed the next ten. Did not get off to a good start in run defense and again struggled to get off tight end blocks. Was dominant against Washington after his return but kind of faded out from there. The pass rush really missed his presence, though, and didn’t really get going until his return to the lineup. Sack City’s prosperity in 2015 depends on a strong showing by Long as its mayor.

William Hayes (42 tackles, 4 sacks, 1 forced fumble) – C

Still a capable enough backup who can stop the run and get you some pass rush, but forced into the lineup long-term after Long’s injury exposed Hayes a bit as an average DE. Plus he carried a lot of injuries into the season himself, so 2015 may see him back on the upswing.

Michael Brockers (32 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 pass knockdown) – C-

Not sure he’s lived up to the high draft position. Developed into a solid run-stuffer but didn’t provide a whole lot in pass rush. Both possibly happened because Donald’s emergence pushed him over into more of a nose tackle role. Donald was already getting double-teamed a lot in 2014; Brockers has to bring it strong enough in 2015 to make teams pay for that.

Kendall Langford (25 tackles, 1 sacks) – D+

He's 29 and may be starting to show some mileage. Struggled to hold the point or penetrate the pocket as a pass rusher early in the season. It was only a matter of time before Donald took over as the starter, and that seemed to put a charge in Langford, showing he’s used best in bursts off the bench at this stage of his career.

Eugene Sims (27 tackles, 3 sacks) – D+

Likeable player with a good motor and ability to rush the passer from inside or outside, but he also had more personal fouls than sacks. When he’s disciplined he’s capable of a high level of play.

Alex Carrington (1 tackle) – F

LOL, he was on the roster all year? Who knew?

Ethan Westbrooks (5 tackles) - D

Nice young player on the rise as long as he gets off the stupid penalty habit. Big, strong, and versatile. A good hitter who already has several solid pass-rush moves. Shows disruptive ability. 

Looking ahead: A healthy season from Long should put Sack City back into the top 5 next season. Refereeing that recognizes the Rams, especially Quinn, getting held all the time could make them a force of historic proportions. Langford's already been released in a cap move and Carrington doesn't look likely to return, so depth at DT has become a need.

RamView's move: I like Jarvis Jenkins, formerly of Washington, for the third DT spot. He's only 26, should be injury-free for the first time in several years and sounds like the kind of guy Mike Waufle and his potential Rams teammates could light a fire under.

Shoot the moon: If the Rams want to go bigger (contract-wise) on a free agent DT, C.J. Mosley and Letroy Guion are both young and were very effective rotational DTs last year in Detroit and Green Bay respectively. The Rams will especially love Mosley because he was suspended two games for pot possession last year. And Guion beats that: he got arrested in the offseason for pot and illegal weapons possession (and probably has a suspension coming from the league at some point). Oh, they'd love Jenkins, too; he has a 4-game suspension for PEDs on his record.

Rams predictions: Can you imagine if the Rams use yet another high draft pick on a defensive tackle? Oh the humanity. Since they went after free agent Darnell Dockett, who signed with the 49ers, they don't sound too afraid to spend in free agency or go after an older guy at the position. Cory Redding, Henry Melton and Kevin Williams are all said to be considering retirement, but maybe the Rams can pull them back in with a decent paycheck and a chance to play on a defense with historic potential. (Also, I didn't check but I feel there's a good chance Waufle has worked with Vince Wilfork.) Something else to look out for is the fine job the Fisher regime has done developing late draft picks and rookie free agents into very good pass rushers. (I'll even propose a candidate: Zack Wagenmann of Montana. Fisher loves Montana guys.) Don't be surprised to see it happen again this summer and get Rams Nation wondering again if the Rams can keep 9 or 10 d-linemen on the roster. The one nice problem to have the team has had lately.

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