Random Ramsdom: Rams land 2 among NFL’s top-50 lineman

On Wednesday, ESPN paired up with Pro Football Focus to release an article ranking the top-50 lineman — both on offense and defense — in the NFL. The Rams landed a pair of players on the list, including the No. 1 player.

Any guesses? Psshhhhh, of course you know who it is. It’s Superman, himself, Aaron Donald. Here’s what they had to say about his top spot:

“There isn’t a player in the NFL who towers over his peers in the same way Donald does. Since entering the league in 2014, he has recorded a PFF grade above 90.0 in 37 regular-season games. The next closest interior defensive lineman in that span has done so in ... nine. Donald is a game-wrecker in its purest form.”

The second lineman from the Rams is also unsurprisingly Andrew Whitworth, who hasn’t shown any kind of regression as a 38-year-old left tackle.

“Whitworth is defying Father Time in his 15th NFL season, ranking as one of the highest-graded tackles in the league through Week 4. He is the only tackle with both pass-blocking and run-blocking grades of 85.0 or higher this season. It has been a strong bounce-back campaign following a 2019 season in which Whitworth posted his lowest PFF grade since 2008.”

A stalwart presence on either side of the trenches is a hallmark of good NFL teams. Find any good team — the Chiefs, Ravens, Rams, Packers, etc. — and you’ll find a pair of players at the top of their positions. It’s an underrated recipe for success and the Rams are flourishing with that same makeup.

Now for today’s links.

Rams News:

Check out the latest comments from the podium on Wednesday (TheRams.com)

Cameron DaSilva highlights the ongoing competition between Ogbo Okoronkwo and Samson Ebukam (The Rams Wire)

OL David Edwards hasn’t skipped a beat in his sophomore season (TheRams.com)

Bret Stuter highlights the the Rams’ underwhelming special teams unit (Ramblin’ Fan)

NFL News:

Bill Barnwell gives out his quarter-season awards in the NFL (ESPN)

Matthew Berry’s Love/Hate for Week 5 (ESPN)

One more Titans player tested positive on Thursday (Pro Football Talk)

Patriots have no new positives this morning (Pro Football Talk)

The NFL might have to seed playoffs by winning percentage this year (Bleacher Report)

Cody Benjamin releases the Week 5 edition of his quarterback rankings (CBS Sports)