Rams' Turner and Ford Ranked as Top DL in Latest Rankings

The Los Angeles Rams were just minutes away from hosting the NFC Championship last season after nearly knocking off the would-be Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in the divisional round.

Heading into training camp and the 2025 season, Los Angeles is in a terrific spot to overtake their East Coast foes as the team to beat in the NFC.

The Rams are one of the youngest teams in the NFL with an inexperienced yet talented defense and an offense with a great mixture of youth and veteran presence. Head coach Sean McVay and general manager Les Snead have turned a team that was once thought to be rebuilding into serious championship contenders within a couple of seasons.

Speaking of the defense, it is a unit that has been mostly built up through the draft, especially up front with pass rushers Jared Verse- the 2024 Defensive Rookie of the Year, Byron Young, Brennan Jackson, and rookie Josaiah Stewart; then in the trenches with Braden Fiske, Kobie Turner, and free agent signee Poona Ford, who replaces Bobby Brown III.

Turner and Ford are among the best players on the roster overall on a team with loads of talent. Pro Football Focus seems to think so as the two players are featured in the latest interior defensive line rankings performed by lead NFL Draft analyst Trevor Sikkema.

At the top of these rankings are Kansas City Chiefs' Chris Jones and New York Giants' Dexter Lawrence, to no surprise. The first Ram to show up is Ford at No. 15, where he received high praise.

"Ford didn’t crack PFF’s top interior defenders list last season, but he jumps all the way into the top 15 ahead of the 2025 campaign. His 85.3 PFF overall grade in 2024 ranked fifth among interior defenders," Sikkema wrote. "Ford has been a good starting defensive tackle throughout his career, but he seemed to put it all together as a run defender and a pass rusher this past season."

Two spots later, Turner came in at No. 17 as an emerging interior lineman with more success coming his way.

"Turner followed up a fantastic rookie season with a solid Year 2," Sikkema said. "His 74.8 PFF overall grade was good for 11th among interior defenders, and his grade as a run defender improved from 68.8 to 74.8. He recorded nine sacks in 2023 and eight in 2024."

It is not a surprise to see Turner and Ford ranked highly on this list. These are two incredibly talented defensive linemen who will be key pieces to the Rams success on this side of the ball. Especially Turner, who is quickly emerging as one of the best young defensive tackles in the NFL.