PFF ranks Rams’ OL, pass rush and secondary all in top 3 of NFL for 2020
The Los Angeles Rams came up short of their goal to win a Super Bowl this season, finishing 10-6 and losing in the divisional round to the top-seeded Packers. It was a disappointing ending, but there are still plenty of positives to take away from how the Rams played in 2020.
For starters, they had three of the best position groups in the NFL with the offensive line, the pass rush and the secondary performing at very high levels. Those groups were led by the likes of Andrew Whitworth, Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey, but there were other unsung heroes that helped propel the Rams, too.
Pro Football Focus ranked every team’s offensive line, pass rush and secondary from the 2020 season and the Rams were in the top three of each.
Offensive line: No. 3
(AP Photo/Scott Eklund)
The Rams allowed just 25 sacks this season, which was tied for sixth-fewest in the NFL. Whitworth once again played at a high level when he was healthy, but the real improvements came at the other four spots. Austin Blythe wasn't perfect, but he was much better at center this season than he was at guard in 2019. Austin Corbett was a stud at right guard and Rob Havenstein bounced back nicely from a tough season last year. Here's what PFF wrote about the Rams' third-ranked O-line.
There really wasn’t a whole lot of movement from the Rams this past offseason to add to the group, so the change centered around improvement from the players who were already on the roster. Andrew Whitworth improved his PFF grade by 16 points before his injury, while Austin Blythe’s and Austin Corbett’s grades each jumped nearly 20 points. Those improvements paled in comparison to Rob Havenstein’s jump from a 50.9 PFF grade in 2019 to 80.0 heading into this year’s postseason.
Secondary: No. 1
(Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
The secondary was the biggest strength of the Rams this season, led of course by Ramsey. He had the best season of his career, allowing only a 50.7% completion rate in coverage. But Darious Williams, Troy Hill, John Johnson and Jordan Fuller all stepped up in big ways, too. According to PFF, they allowed a league-best -0.13 expected points added (EPA) per pass this season, while they also allowed the fewest yards per attempt in football. That put them No. 1 in the NFL in PFF's secondary rankings. From PFF:
First-year defensive coordinator Brandon Staley has crafted a great scheme, and Jalen Ramsey, Troy Hill, Darious Williams and John Johnson III have all executed at an elite level. Williams and Ramsey ranked fourth and seventh, respectively, among outside corners in coverage grade this season, while Hill was the second-highest-graded slot corner and Johnson was the fourth-highest-graded safety in coverage.
Pass rush: No. 3
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When you have a player of Donald's caliber, you're bound to rank near the top of the league in pass-rush rankings. He once again led the team with 13.5 sacks and topped the NFL with 98 total pressures, putting himself in the conversation for Defensive Player of the Year once again. But it wasn't just Donald who helped lift the Rams to No. 3 in PFF's rankings. Leonard Floyd had a career-high 45 pressures and 10.5 sacks with 11 tackles for loss and 19 QB hits. Morgan Fox put up six sacks as a rotational player, Michael Brockers had five sacks and Justin Hollins stepped up nicely opposite Floyd at outside linebacker. From PFF:
The Rams have the best pass-rusher in the NFL in Aaron Donald, and he almost single-handedly gives Los Angeles one of the better pass-rushing units in the league. This past season marked the sixth consecutive season that Donald has graded out as the best pass-rusher in the NFL, and his 98 pressures during the regular season were 22 more than any other player. He is simply on a different level than everyone else.
