The Rams don't have enough overall talent on defense to be elite. But I think we can be a solid top 10 defense. The run defense so far this season is better then years past. We know the secondary is strong and Donald disrupts up front. If we had better outside pass rush this defense would be really, really good.
This argument is the same one people made about the o-line last year. My counter to that is the same I gave last year about the o-line, that it's not the players it's the coaching. Staley plays his defense soft not aggressively so it appears the defense isn't strong. He's got the players to be aggressive and to be successful at it, but he's a newbie DC and is playing very conservative. You can tell especially when you watch the pass rush particularly the outside rushers. They are prioritizing contain not pressure. Compare both Ebukam and Floyd's pass-rushing style last year to now. Both aren't nearly aggressive as they were. That is because they are playing Staley's scheme. If AD doesn't blow up the pass protection then it holds up because Staley doesn't defend the flats so his outside rushers have to be mindful of that.
Just like the o-line was hamstrung by limited blocking options of which only one was installed prior to the season last year so they looked worse than the talent would have reflected. So everyone was saying no talent on the o-line. But look now and you see a completely different unit, with the exact same players. That's the difference coaching and scheme make. O'Connell came in and installed gap, inside zone, and horizontal zone with a vertical concept (vs last year's horizontal concept). The outside zone blocking scheme is a perfect example of what I'm saying. Last year they used almost exclusively the horizontal concept which relies upon the defense not maintaining gap integrity. A vertical concept is far more aggressive, they are pushing the d front back off the LOS creating the holes instead of waiting for them to happen.
Staley's defense is similar to what Kromer did in with the o-line and run attack in 2019. Staley waits for the offense to make a mistake. If they don't they score. His defense being primarily zone doesn't kick in until they are pushed back to their own 40. But then one first down and the offense is in FG range. That IMO is not making use of the level of talent he actually has.
So IMO it's not the lack of talent on the defense, but the scheme that they play up front makes them look bad. I think Staley should line up Brockers at 1T with Hollins as a second JACK opposite Floyd and Kiser over the second A gap. Then on occasional first downs, he should run blitz Young through the A gap opposite Brockers. That will stop those early inside runs. Move Ebukam back to his normal SAM position to cover the flats and turn his outside rushers loose. Kiser can flow to the weak side for contain if necessary.
In the secondary on passing downs, he can man up outside with Ramsey and Williams, and play zone short to mid-range with Kiser, Fuller, and Rapp. He should replace Johnson who has limited range with Burgess who is much faster to play a single high safety shading to Williams's side. They are paying Ramsey a mint to be that man coverage lockdown CB on an island, so play him that way or why are they paying him the big $$?
The bottom line is that it's not the players it's the scheme Staley is playing that makes them look bad. Staley needs to start playing to his player's strengths or an elite offense will rip them up.
