This next season marks the beginning of a new era for the Los Angeles Rams. They are currently confronted with the onerous challenge of replacing Aaron Donald, who has retired after a stellar career.
The truth is that Donald just cannot be replaced. All the Rams can do is try to replace the tremendous vacuum left by the eight-time All-Pro defensive tackle’s permanent retirement.
Incoming third-year defensive back Quentin Lake will be among those attempting to match Donald’s contributions to the Rams. Lake has said that it is tough to replace a player like Donald, not only because of his superior skills, but also because of the intangibles he offers to the team:
Yeah, sometimes you speak about ‘Are you going to replace him,’ and as we all know, you can’t. You can’t replace Aaron Donald,” Lake told NFL.com’s Nick Shook. “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 an excellent job of ensuring that the guys behind him and with him were ready. Guys like Kobie Turner, Bobby Brown, and Byron Young, the young players, the up-and-coming bright players, are prepared.”
Simply told, Donald is one-of-one. The Rams understand this all too well, so they will not try to find a one-for-one replacement for him. Instead, they will take a committee method in an attempt to maintain the same level of overall defensive effect without their superstar defensive tackle:
“And, as I previously stated, Les Snead and his staff did an excellent job of bringing in new players to improve and strengthen our strategy, namely Jared Verse, our first-round pick, and Braden Fiske, our second-round pick. Lake stated, “These are guys who love the game and fit our culture, and I’m excited to see what they do.”
It won’t be easy, but this crew appears to be up to the task.
