Getty Aaron Donald #99 and Kobie Turner #91 of the Los Angeles Rams.
The Los Angeles Rams are in final preparation for their Super Wild Card showdown with the Detroit Lions. But they got some good news as the Associated Press revealed the 2024 All-Pro teams on January 12.
Youngsters Kyren Williams and Puka Nacua both earned Second Team honors.
Aaron Donald is the team’s lone First Team honoree. But the accomplishment put him among some exclusive ranks.
Donald is one of eight players in NFL history with at least eight selections, per Pro Football Reference. He trails just four players for the all-time lead. Whether or not he gets to the top – he needs two more – is uncertain as he has contemplated retirement in recent seasons.
But rookie defensive lineman Kobie Turner has already made up his mind.
“The BEST to EVER do it,” Turner said in a quoted post of the Rams acknowledging Donald’s achievement on X, formerly Twitter on January 12.
Donald also earned his 10th straight Pro Bowl selection this season, finishing with 8.0 sacks on the season. It is his ninth time recording at least that many sacks in his 10-year career, and it was a step up from his 5.0-sack campaign in 2022.
This was a big season for the third-round rookie Turner, as he led the team in sacks this season.
“With 9.0 sacks in the regular season, Kobie Turner leads the team in sacks. He is the only rookie in franchise history to be the sack leader,” the Rams social media team wrote in a post on X on January 10. “Additionally, he is just the third DT in the past 20 years to have 9+ sacks as a rookie.”
It was a good year for several Rams youngsters. Their efforts underscore the job General Manager Les Snead has done to replenish the roster in the wake of their victory in Super Bowl LVI.
Rams: All-Pro RB Kyren Williams an ‘Undeniable Talent’
GettyKyren Williams #23 of the Los Angeles Rams.
Williams finished the season with 1,144 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns. He is the first Rams running back to cross the 1,000-yard mark on the ground and the first to earn All-Pro honors since Todd Gurley in 2018, per Stathead.
Williams, 23, is also the first since Gurley in 2019 to log double-digit rushing touchdowns.
“An undeniable talent,” The Rams social media team said in another post. “Congratulations to @Kyrenwilliams23 on being named AP All-Pro Second-Team!”
Williams also earned a trip to the Pro Bowl Games this season. He joins Donald, Nacua, and Matthew Stafford on the NFC roster.
Puka Nacua Matches Hall-of-Famer With All-Pro Selection
GettyPuka Nacua #17 of the Los Angeles Rams.
Nacua became just the seventh rookie in franchise history to earn All-Pro honors, and the first since Hall of Fame running back Jerome Bettis in 1993. Like Williams, Nacua is a fifth-round pick, making him just the eighth rookie drafted in the fifth round – and the 18th player drafted in that round or later – to earn a slot.
He is the first skill position player drafted in the fifth round or later to make it at his natural spot since Bobby Hunt with the Dallas Texans in the AFL circa 1962.
Nacua, 22, finished the campaign with 1,486 yards and six receiving touchdowns on 105 targets.