When the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams face off on Sunday Night Football at the start of the 2024 season, Dan Campbell’s team won’t have to worry about Aaron Donald getting in the way.
Donald, a notorious spoiler who was the league’s defensive player for several years, retired after last season. While the Lions benefit, it will still be no easy task for their offense against the Rams’ defensive line.
A big part of that will be second-year defensive tackle Kobie Turner, who had a great year with nine sacks in his first professional season. The Wake Forest product finished third in the Defensive Rookie of the Year voting last season and is expected to play a big part in the team’s success in 2024.
With Donald retired, Turner could be opponents’ primary focus when it comes to the Rams’ defensive line.
“I mean, when you think about it, it’s pretty cool to play against someone like him. I played against him when he was at Richmond and then he transferred to Wake Forest,” backup tackle Colby Sorsdal said Tuesday. “He was a special player last year and obviously you hope he improves from year one to year two. So it’s always exciting and to prepare for a player like him, you have to be on your guard. But nothing changes for us.”
Turner was able to get within a few points of Jared Goff when the teams met in the Wild Card Round last year, but the Lions’ offensive defense had no problem shutting him down in other situations, both in pass protection and on the run.
Although all of the Lions’ offensive linemen have experience playing against Turner last playoff season (newcomer Kevin Zeitler, for example, did so as a member of the Ravens), Sorsdal has the most experience, having already faced him while in college at William & Mary.
“Really good. Really good hands, explosive movements right off the ball,” Sorsdal said. “A little tricky, good feel for the ball, if you will. Always knows where the ball is going and is a very instinctive player. So, yeah, that’s what I thought the first time around.”
Overall, Turner played 36 snaps in last year’s playoff game and received a total defense grade of 61.4, a run defense grade of 45.4 and a pass rush grade of 73.3 from Pro Football Focus.
The Rams are creative when it comes to creating opportunities for Turner. In the following clip, he first engages in conversation with Frank Ragnow before engaging in a confrontation with fellow defensive player Jonah Williams.
The Lions keep him well at bay at the beginning, and Jared Goff brings the ball into play in time to pass it to Sam LaPorta.
In the following clip, the Lions again do a good job of fending off one of the Rams’ defensive tricks. Turner has to make two blocks to free up Aaron Donald, who swerves to the left. The tandem of Jonah Jackson and Frank Ragnow handles it well, however.
It’s a smart plan of attack by the Rams defense, as Donald’s speed has been a weapon in such stunts throughout his career. However, thanks to good communication, the Lions are able to accomplish the task with relative ease.
Turner gets blocked on Donald, which is a good strategy to justify such a stunt. He is almost blocked off his feet by Jackson, who is now with the Los Angeles Rams. As a result, the Lions are able to execute a chunk play on a long pass from Goff to Josh Reynolds.
Still, Turner had his moments to pressure Goff. He was credited with half a sack after Goff fell to the turf and he teamed up with Michael Hoecht to make contact with the passer.
His second quarterback hit, however, was more the result of his own interference. On this replay, he’s alone against Ragnow and wastes little time in taking down Detroit’s talented center.
In a game where Goff was in rhythm most of the time and rarely missed, Turner managed to disrupt his timing and force an incomplete pass toward Amon-Ra St. Brown.
Time will tell how many one-on-one games Turner sees from the Lions when Donald is out. The Lions may be forced to throw multiple players at him, despite the offensive line being one of the best groups in the league.
The verdict
The Lions lost Jonah Jackson, who happened to sign with the Rams as a free agent, but still have the core of their offensive line that kept Turner out of the backfield for most of last year’s playoff matchup.
If Turner has the same lineup this year, he’ll likely have a lot to do with Ragnow and Graham Glasgow, who slides to the left side while newcomer Kevin Zeitler takes over the right side. The Wake Forest product will likely be tasked with more responsibility with Donald gone, but he should be able to carry some of the load.
On the other side of the defensive line, Detroit has to reckon with newcomers Jared Verse and Braden Fiske.
The key for the Lions will be to keep Turner on his toes, as Ragnow did in his successful outings last season. If he can push and keep his shoulders lower than the Lions’ offensive linemen, it could be a difficult night for Detroit’s offense.
