Finding a way to replace legendary defensive lineman Aaron Donald was a tall order for the Los Angeles Rams and general manager Les Snead after the 2023 season.
How do you find a player who can do so much on his own just one season after he retired the league? The answer, it turns out, is to draft a lot of player who can replicate some of Donald's abilities and build a cohesive defensive line around that young core.
That process was sound, but, as Snead told ESPN's Kevin Clark, it took a lot of draft capital to pull off.
“We still haven’t replaced Aaron Donald," Snead said. "I’ve jokingly said, but it’s reality, it took five top-100 picks to somewhat replace Aaron Donald.”
"It took five top 100 picks to somewhat replace Aaron Donald." -Les Snead.
— Kevin Clark (@bykevinclark) April 1, 2025
I asked Snead about rebuilding the Rams' defensive line after Aaron Donald left, and the early success of Jared Verse, Braden Fiske and others. Really insightful interview with Les on This Is Football. pic.twitter.com/89aH7ivsGw
While Snead's remarks seem like hyperbole, it's true: edge rusher Jared Verse went No. 19 overall in 2024 while defensive end Braden Fiske went No. 39 but cost the Rams what ended up being the No. 57 pick this year to move up. In 2023, edge rusher Byron Young went No. 77 and Kobie Turner went No. 89.
All of those picks were made in service to rebuilding the defensive line around the absence of Donald and his 111 sacks in 10 seasons. Even though Young and Turner were drafted before Donald left, Snead noted that the team had a good feeling Donald would retire following the 2023 season and made strides to begin the process of finding replacements beforehand.
The results have been pretty good so far: Verse won 2024 Defensive Rookie of the Year. Fiske tallied 8.5 sacks. Young has 15.5 sacks and 32 quarterback hits in two seasons and Turner has 17 sacks and 29 QB hits in his two seasons.
The one area the Rams weren't great in during the post-Donald years has been in run defense. That's where Poona Ford comes in. The Rams added the veteran nose tackle to beef up the interior of the defensive line and provide much-needed run support in an NFL that has turned back to the running backs. It helps, too, that one ex-Rams defensive linemen sees a lot of Donald in Ford's game.
It's never easy to solve a problem created by the loss of a legend. But Snead and the Rams have done a pretty good job making the best of the situation and building one of the best young defensive cores in the NFL.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Snead: 'It took five top-100 picks to somewhat replace Aaron Donald'
