Over the last 20 years, the Los Angeles Rams have had some of the league’s best players suit up for them. Whether they were homegrown or acquired in trades or free agency, plenty of stars have played in horns – particularly in the Les Snead and Sean McVay era.
Pro Football Focus is celebrating 20 years of NFL data and this week, Nathan Jahnke put together the All-PFF Team consisting of the best players at each position since 2006. Several current and former Rams players made the list, including one star defender who has yet to suit up for Los Angeles.
Davante Adams was a second-team selection at wide receiver, as was Von Miller at edge rusher. Four other players were first-team selections at their respective positions, led by the legendary Aaron Donald on the defensive line.
Aaron Donald was the top defensive player at any position in this methodology. His career 97.3 defense grade was 3.4 higher than that of any other defensive tackle, and he played more than the next four defensive tackles. Donald’s 15.4% pressure percentage was the best for all interior defenders.
Myles Garrett was a first-team EDGE selection alongside Khalil Mack. Here’s what Jahnke wrote about Garrett and Miller as top edge rushers over the last two decades.
Garrett has been the best pass-rusher of the group. He has a 21.4% pass-rush win rate, which is 3% higher than any other rusher with at least 2,000 snaps.
The battle between Khalil Mack and Von Miller was close, but Mack’s longevity helped him take the last spot. Miller’s 2012 season was the best of either player. Yet Miller has registered just one notable campaign in the last six years, while Mack has generated at least a 90.0 overall grade on over 600 snaps in two of his last three seasons.
Elsewhere on defense, Bobby Wagner was a first-team linebacker with Luke Kuechly and Eric Weddle was named a first-team safety with Harrison Smith. Wagner’s grades of 91.7 and 91.4 in 2018 and 2017 are the second- and third-best grades ever by a linebacker, behind only Kuechly in 2015 (93.4).
Weddle’s time with the Rams was brief, playing just one season in 2019, but he came out of retirement for the playoff run in 2021 to help Los Angeles win a Super Bowl.
Eric Weddle, Harrison Smith and Devin McCourty are three of the five safeties with over 12,000 snaps during the PFF era and three of the five with grades above 90.0. All three own grades above 92.0 in both run defense and coverage. Pass-rushing helped differentiate the three, as Weddle and Smith blitzed much more than McCourty and were more successful on a per-play basis.
These are the six current and former Rams players who made the All-PFF Team.
- Davante Adams, second-team WR
- Aaron Donald, first-team DL
- Myles Garrett, first-team EDGE
- Von Miller, second-team EDGE
- Bobby Wagner, first-team LB
- Eric Weddle, first-team S
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Rams stars litter All-PFF Team of best players from last 20 years
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