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Countdown to Camp: Interior in focus as defensive line continues preparation in adjusting to life without Aaron Donald

Countdown to Camp is a series breaking down the Rams roster by position group heading into the team's first open training camp practice. The second installment examines the defensive line.

When it was time to take the field for warm ups for training camp practices, 99 was typically one of – if not the – first to arrive.

In regular season practices, his presence was felt simply by head coach Sean McVay having to give him days off so his dominance wouldn't wreck practice and allow the offense to get work done.

Next week, training camp practices will feel a lot like those regular season ones where Aaron Donald had rest days – the next phase of preparing for playing without him after he retired earlier this offseason.

This experience won't be brand-new for Los Angeles' defensive line, having first started that process when it gathered for Organized Team Activities this spring. However, it will still take more time to form the post-Donald identity of the rotation.

One central piece to the equation will be Kobie Turner's second season. The Defensive Rookie of the Year finalist set a new franchise rookie record with 9 sacks in 2023, and also spent time training with one of Donald's trainers – Al "Poodie" Carson – this spring. He also proved capable of taking on an expanded role with the way he produced at multiple positions along the defensive line as a rookie.

Meanwhile, Bobby Brown III could possibly take on an expanded role, including having more chances to rush the passer after primarily having the role of a run-stopping nose tackle through his first three seasons with the Rams.

Rookie Braden Fiske is an intriguing piece to the rotation, too, especially given the Rams believed so strongly in his chemistry developed over the 2023 season with Florida State teammate Jared Verse, they traded up in the second round of this year's draft to select Fiske and include that in their defensive front.

As Donald showed throughout his career, and as USA TODAY's Doug Farrar noted in the embedded tweet above, winning from the interior has become critical in this era of the NFL. Thus, close attention will be paid to the interior of the Rams' defensive line in training camp.

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