St. Louis Rams 2015 Profiles: T.J. McDonald

By Kevin Parvizi | Jul 2, 2015

The St. Louis Rams have one of the league’s most enviable defensive lines, as Robert Quinn and Aaron Donald are unquestionably elite players who could carry a four-man front alone. Throw in Chris Long, Michael Brockers, rotational DE Eugene Sims, and important offseason signing Nick Fairley, and you have the best DL in the NFL.

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You could say that the Rams beastly defensive line takes plenty of pressure off of the secondary, and that’s definitely an accurate statement. However, it’s important to make sure that your praise for the Rams defensive line doesn’t go hand-in-hand with criticisms of the team’s secondary, because they have some good young players back there, particularly after E.J. Gaines emerged as a good “hit” by Les Snead and Jeff Fisher as a rookie out of Missouri last year.

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One of the most interesting players on the Rams elite defense is strong safety T.J. McDonald, who is probably one of the best in-the-box safeties in the game. He certainly had the raw production to back that up last season, overcoming a rocky start to the season to finish with 105 tackles (84) solo and a pair of sacks. He also defended a career-high seven passes and undoubtedly qualifies as an underrated player on the rise as heads into his third season.

McDonald isn’t known for his work in coverage, and just five safeties out of 60 qualifiers allowed more yards per snap in coverage, as per Pro Football Focus. With just one interception in each of the past two seasons, McDonald hasn’t proven to be much of a playmaker in coverage, and that hurts even more when you factor in the six touchdowns he surrendered in 2014.

That said, the vast majority of the former USC star’s struggles occurred in the first half of the regular season, as the sophomore starter quickly turned things around at the half-way point. This impressive 180 makes him an especially interesting player to watch next season, with one reason being the fact that third-year players are always seen as fully legit breakout candidates.

The former five-star recruit is one of the strongest and most athletic safeties in the game, and he fits the profile of a nasty, hard-hitting thumper who can absolutely impose himself on opposing rushing attacks. His triple-digit tackle numbers last season were no fluke, and they weren’t just garbage tackles either. Per PFF, McDonald recorded 47 defensive stops, and what makes that number more impressive is the fact that speedy linebacker Alec Ogeltree had more.

Among 54 qualifying safeties, only three had a higher Run Stop% than T.J. McDonald on all plays with seven having a better Run Stop% “in the box”. In fact, McDonald’s 30 defensive stops in the running game were tied with Green Bay Packers veteran Morgan Burnett for the best mark at the position, and that makes his 2015 prospects all the more exciting.

Oct 26, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs tight end Anthony Fasano (80) catches a pass and is tackled by St. Louis Rams strong safety T.J. McDonald (25) during the first half at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

After missing six games as a rookie due to a fractured leg that caused him to hit the short-term injured reserve, McDonald had a solid sophomore campaign after showing enough promise as a rookie to earn a starting gig for the St. Louis Rams last season. He didn’t look like a liability in coverage as the season wore on, and while he’s clearly a pure strong safety, he’s not as rigid in coverage as he seemed as a draft prospect.

McDonald qualifies as a real X-Factor at the back end of the Rams secondary, and he’s the type of safe tackler who is already one of the team’s best run defenders. Add in his capable blitzing and improving coverage, and you have a guy who could receive national attention next year as one of the game’s better strong safeties on an elite defense.

The Rams defense could be one of the league’s best in 2015, and they have plenty of young players who could make the leap, particularly in the secondary. Again, McDonald is just 24 and has all the physical tools to be an impact strong safety in this league a la Reshad Jones, and if he can pick up where he left off at the end of last season (he was strong finisher in both of his seasons), he could start to gain some hype.

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