Film Review: How Lions Can Limit Kobie Turner's Impact

Rams' defensive line poses tough test even without Aaron Donald.

Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Kobie Turner (91). / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

When the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams square off on Sunday Night Football to begin the 2024 season, Dan Campbell's team won't have to worry about Aaron Donald getting in its way.

Donald, a notorious game-wrecker who was the league's defensive lineman for several years, retired following last season. While the Lions benefit from that, 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 big year with nine sacks in his first professional season. The Wake Forest product finished third in Defensive Rookie of The Year voting last season and figures to be a big part of the team's success in 2024.

With Donald retired, Turner could be the primary area of focus for opponents when it comes to the Rams' defensive line.

“I mean, the thought process going in, it’s pretty cool to play against someone like that. I played against him when he was at Richmond, and then he transferred to Wake Forest," said backup tackle Colby Sorsdal Tuesday. "He was a special player last year, and obviously you hope to see improvement from year one to year two. So it’s always exciting, and to prepare against a player like that you have to be on your P’s and Q’s. But nothing changes for us."

Turner was able to get after Jared Goff at points last year during the team's meeting in the Wild Card Round. However, the Lions' offensive interior also had little trouble moving him out of the way in other situations in both pass protection and the run game.

Though all of the Lions' starting offensive linemen have experience playing against Turner last season in the playoffs, with newcomer Kevin Zeitler doing so as a member of the Ravens, Sorsdal has the most experience having squared off with him while playing with William & Mary in college.

“Really good. Really good hands, explosive movement right off the ball," Sorsdal said. "Kind of shifty, good knack for the ball, if you will. Knows where it’s going all the time and is a very instinctive player. So, yeah, that’s what I thought the first time.” 

In total, last year's playoff meeting saw Turner play 36 snaps and earn a 61.4 overall defensive grade, a 45.4 run defense grade and a 73.3 pass-rush grade via Pro Football Focus.

The Rams have some creativity in creating opportunities for Turner. On the below clip, he initially engages with Frank Ragnow before getting loose on a twist with fellow defensive lineman Jonah Williams.

The Lions do a good job of keeping him out early, and Jared Goff gets the ball out with some time to spare for a completion to Sam LaPorta.

In the clip below, the Lions again do a good job of handling one of the Rams' defensive stunts. Turner takes on two blocks in an effort to free up Aaron Donald going around to his left. However, the tandem of Jonah Jackson and Frank Ragnow handle this nicely.

It's a clever rush plan drawn up by the Rams' defense, as Donald was a weapon throughout his career in stunts such as this with his quickness. However, thanks to solid communication the Lions are able to handle the task with relative ease.

Turner is blocked into Donald, which is a solid strategy for accounting for a stunt like this. He's nearly blocked off of his feet by Jackson, who is now with the Los Angeles Rams. As a result, the Lions are able to convert a chunk play on a long completion from Goff to Josh Reynolds.

Still, Turner did have his moments where he was able to generate heat on Goff. He was credited with a half-sack after Goff fell to the turf and he teamed up with Michael Hoecht to touch the passer down.

Yet, his second quarterback hit was more the result of his own disruption. On this rep, he's singled up against Ragnow and wastes little time dispatching of Detroit's talented center.

In a game where Goff was in rhythm for most of the game and rarely not on point, Turner was able to disrupt his timing and force an incompletion in the direction of Amon-Ra St. Brown.

Time will tell how much one-on-one Turner sees from the Lions with Donald not in the fold. The Lions may be forced into sending multiple bodies at him, even with the offensive line unit being one of the league's best collective groups.

The verdict

The Lions lost Jonah Jackson, who coincidentally signed with the Rams in free agency, but still maintain 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 alignment this year, he will likely see a lot of Ragnow and Graham Glasgow, who slides to left guard while newcomer Kevin Zeitler takes over on the right side. The Wake Forest product will likely be tasked with more responsibility as Donald is gone, but he should be able to shoulder some of the load.

Elsewhere along the defensive line, Detroit will have to account for newcomers Jared Verse and Braden Fiske.

The key for the Lions will be keeping Turner on his heels, as Ragnow was able to do in his successful reps last season. If he is able to drive and keep his shoulders lower than the Lions' offensive linemen, then it could be a difficult evening for Detroit's offense.