After all the smoke we saw this offseason, legendary defensive tackle and future First-Ballot Hall of Famer Aaron Donald returned to the Los Angeles Rams. Donald's timing is impeccable with a new NFL regular season just about two weeks away. (Psst, he got to skip training camp!)
Let's not beat around the bush, though. Donald was undoubtedly more motivated to make this decision to unretire after the Rams had acquired fellow superstar Myles Garrett. Why? Because with Garrett's presence on the same defensive front, he is much more likely to face consistent double teams as he is five years younger than Donald. In effect, Donald should get much more favorable one-on-one matchups with offensive linemen to take advantage of thanks to Garrett's presence.
To a greater team perspective, the Rams clearly have the NFL's most talented team on paper now. They arguably already did even without Donald in the fold. Here's what their depth chart/lineup probably looks like now on both offense and defense with the return of the best player in franchise history.
Defense (3-4 scheme)
Here's that mentioned defense now featuring two of the greatest pass-rushers of their generation at the same time:
- DE: Kobie Turner
- NT: Poona Ford
- DE: Aaron Donald
- ILB: Byron Young
- LILB: Nate Landman
- RILB: Omar Speights
- SLB: Myles Garrett
- LCB: Jaylen Watson
- SS: Kamren Kinchens
- FS: Kam Curl
- RCB: Trent McDuffie
- NB: Quentin Lake
Phew.
Offense
Of course, nothing really changes for the Rams' offense with Donald's return. Still, hoo boy, is it something to see how much talent they have on this side of the ball.
- QB: Matthew Stafford
- RB: Kyren Williams
- WR: Puka Nacua
- WR: Davante Adams
- WR: Jordan Whittington
- TE: Colby Parkinson
- LT: Alaric Jackson
- LG: Steve Avila
- C: Coleman Shelton
- RG: Kevin Dotson
- RT: Warren McClendon Jr.
What a stacked Rams team from top to bottom. Make no mistake: It is truly Super Bowl or bust in Southern California. Good luck to the rest of the NFL in trying to topple this juggernaut this season.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Here's the Rams' updated lineup with Aaron Donald's thrilling return
