The Los Angeles Rams defence is set to be downright scary after the addition of their newest weapon, Ndamukong Suh.
The Rams reached an agreement with the defensive tackle on a one-year, $14 million deal on Monday, giving them another premier playmaker on a defence that has gone from good to great this offseason.
After trading for cornerbacks Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib to bolster their secondary, Los Angeles have now created a fearsome duo on the defensive line by bringing in Suh to join Aaron Donald.
While Donald was the Defensive Player of the Year last season and a First-team All-Pro for three years running, Suh has a little bit to prove at his new stop.
Why Ndamukong Suh signing with the Rams could be the most important move of the offseason (via @PFF_Gordon)https://t.co/Y8RarWpmKq pic.twitter.com/Z31dqozqY1
— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) March 27, 2018
After racking up 8.5 sacks in his final season with Detroit in 2014, the 31-year-old managed 15.5 sacks in total over three seasons in Miami, despite playing all 16 games each year.
Suh, however, still ranked top 10 in the NFL in total pressures on the defensive interior every season in Miami, according to Pro Football Focus, so it’s not as if he’s declining in a major way, as his raw stats might suggest.
Now paired with Donald, Suh’s job is likely to get much easier with opposing offences throwing more of their attention and double teams at his teammate.
Between them, the Rams are set up to wreak havoc with pressure up the middle to disrupt quarterbacks, and ball-hawks in the secondary to jump on errant passes.
Los Angeles went 11-5 last season with a middling defence that allowed the 19th-most yards per game (339.6) and 12th-most points (20.6.).
— Wade Phillips (@sonofbum) March 26, 2018
With defensive coordinator Wade Phillips now having new toys to work with, it’s fair to wonder if the Rams have closed the gap on the Super Bowl-winning Philadelphia Eagles to be a frontrunner at the top of the NFC.
For Suh, the one-year contract means he’ll have the opportunity to both contend for a title and build-up his value – potentially to the level it was in the offseason he signed with the Dolphins – before hitting free agency again.
