What Rams defensive tackles stunning PFF grade means for Aaron Donald

On paper, Kobie Turner has earned the respect his production has demanded for three consecutive seasons.On the field, though, another question continues to loom over the Los Angeles Rams like a gathering storm: What happens if Aaron Donald walks back through those doors?Pro Football Focus released its annual rankings of the NFL’s top interior defensive linemen this week, placing Turner ninth overall entering the 2026 season.The ranking confirms what Rams coaches and opponents have already discovered.

That Turner is no longer an emerging talent.He has become one of football’s premier disruptive forces. Turner’s pressure totals have climbed every year since his rookie season, when he finished third behind Jalen Carter and Will Anderson Jr.

for the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year award.Turner had 50 quarterback pressures that season (2023), 62 in 2024 and 69 in 2025. PFF gave Turner a pass-rush grade of 83.9 last season, a career best.

He remains equally dependable against the run, posting consistent run-defense grades while finishing the season with seven sacks, 48 tackles, nine tackles for loss, 14 quarterback hits and one phenomenal interception against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 16. And yet, PFF’s recognition also highlights an intriguing dilemma that the Rams could soon face. Donald, whose potential return from retirement remains one of the NFL’s biggest unanswered questions, has historically lined up in the same interior defensive position that Turner now occupies.For nearly a decade, Donald owned that spot, earning the No.

1 ranking from PFF every season from 2015 through 2021 before finishing second in 2022 and third in 2023. “There are some things that he can do that nobody else can really do,” said Turner of Donald last Friday at Rams training camp.“I heard it all my rookie year with ‘AD’.” Turner said he learned a lot from Donald his rookie season, and the two thrived alongside each other on the Rams’ interior defens...