Getty Aaron Donald responded to a Tuesday morning tweet asking where former Los Angeles Charger defensive end Melvin Ingram should go, giving away where Donald wants to see the longtime defender: With the Rams.
It looks like there’s a new addition to the Los Angeles Rams recruiting department.
First, Jalen Ramsey put on his recruiting coordinator hat and sent his L.A. Rams sales pitch to Julio Jones, who wound up in Tennessee. Recently, Ramsey is making a dash at disgruntled New England Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore by recruiting the Pro Bowl CB via Twitter. Gilmore’s future in Foxboro is still too be determined.
But now, looks like Ramsey has company in the recruiting field: Fellow defender Aaron Donald.
At 7:30 a.m. PT on Tuesday, the NFL Twitter account posted the burning question involving free agent pass rusher and former Los Angeles Charger Melvin Ingram.
Name a defense that should add @MelvinIngram.
Nearly seven hours later, Donald reacted with this response:
Obviously, it’s a tweet response with no words, but rather an emoji and thinking Gif straight from Donald’s keyboard. Still, it’s enough to give away that Donald wouldn’t mind the Rams making a run at a fellow L.A. star defender, plus give the league’s best defense from 2020 an extra pass rushing charge.
What the Rams’ Edge Rush Room Currently Looks Like
Donald, from his defensive tackle spot, penetrated through the trenches and collected 13.5 sacks en route to the 2020 NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award. The next best rusher was outside linebacker Leonard Floyd, who snatched 10.5 sacks. He and Donald were the only Rams in the double-digit sack plateau.
But the Rams are needing to replace their next two top rushers behind Donald and Floyd. Morgan Fox (six sacks) and Michael Brockers (five) left via free agency to the Carolina Panthers and Detroit Lions, respectively.
The Rams could see a pass rushing breakthrough from fourth-year nose tackle Sebastian Joseph-Day, who has spent the offseason fine tuning his skills in that arena. Joseph-Day has spent his Rams career tangling with centers and guards while clearing space for Donald and everyone else lining up next to him. A’Shawn Robinson, another trench defender who has also made his living plugging lanes and stopping the run, has shed 30 pounds to become quicker off the ball.
In looking closely at Ingram, the former first rounder in the 2012 draft is coming off his worst season as a pro: Zero sacks and 10 tackles in just seven games played.
Ingram, though, is still an enticing defender on the free agent market. Should the Rams intervene following Donald’s tweet, L.A. will be going after a 32-year-old defender who has 49 career sacks through nine seasons. And before his dismal 2020 year, Ingram produced between seven to 10.5 sacks between 2015 and ’19. According to Spotrac, Ingram holds a calculated market value of $11.4 million.
Adding Ingram only bolsters the edges. The addition means the increased chances of less double teams on Floyd and Donald in passing situations, plus also allowing Joseph-Day, Robinson and anyone else in the front line to slip by freely.
Another NFC West Defender is in Recruiting Mode
If the Rams try to court the three-time Pro Bowl selection, they’ll have to fend off one aggressive pursuer from their own division: Jason Verrett. The San Francisco 49ers cornerback posted this on his Twitter page:
And there’s another recruiter trying to receive a commitment from Ingram. He happens to be a former Charger too: New Las Vegas Raiders cornerback Casey Heyward.
No matter what, Donald has channeled his inner Ramsey by putting on his own recruiting coordinator hat for the Rams. And if Ramsey joins the courting soon on Twitter, it gives the Rams the 2-on-1 advantage in the recruitment of Ingram compared to the other pursuers, increasing their chances of keeping Ingram at SoFi Stadium but in the “Rams House.”