There are a lot of reasons the Rams ranked No. 1 in the NFL in points allowed and yards allowed last season, but no players were more important to their defensive success than Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey. They were each Pro Bowlers, each were first-team All-Pros and Donald came away with his third Defensive Player of the Year award.
Donald is widely regarded as the best player in football, but Ramsey is at the top of the class as far as cornerbacks go, too.
Joe DeCamillis won’t necessarily get to coach Ramsey or Donald as the Rams’ new special teams coordinator, but having spent time with Ramsey in Jacksonville, he puts him right there with Donald as two of the best players in the league.
“Well, he might be 1-A and 1-B as far as the greatest players in the world,” DeCamillis said of Ramsey last week. “But, he’s a great dude. I mean, I know he’s passionate and he wants to win football games. That’s what Jalen’s all about. I know he’ll do whatever we ask of him and he’ll do it as hard as he can as fast as he can. So, I love Jalen. I’m glad to be back with him.”
Earlier in his introductory press conference, DeCamillis shared his excitement after bumping into Donald at the Rams’ facility, saying he’s “probably the greatest player in the world, which was awesome to see.”
Donald and Ramsey weren’t the only quality players on the Rams’ defense last season, with Darious Williams, Leonard Floyd and John Johnson all playing critical roles, as did many others. But they were the alphas on that side of the ball and thankfully, they remain under contract in Los Angeles for the foreseeable future.