Coming into the season, the Los Angeles Rams defense was not expected to be very good following the departure of Aaron Donald. There was no denying how much Donald elevated the play of those around him and to not have his presence was certainly going to be detrimental. With that said, since the bye week and even going further back to Week 3, the Rams defense has performed like a top-10 unit.
A lot of that has been because of the performance of rookie edge rusher Jared Verse. It would be unfair and unrealistic to say that Verse has replaced Donald.