Top 30 Draft Selections in St. Louis Rams History

Nov 15, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams strong safety T.J. McDonald (25) is introduced to the crowd prior to a game against the Chicago Bears at the Edward Jones Dome. The Bears won the game 37-13. Mandatory Credit: Billy Hurst-USA TODAY Sports

26. T.J. McDonald, S, Round 3, Pick 71 Overall, 2013

The 6-foot-3, 217-pound McDonald is still relatively early into his NFL career, but he’s found a way to be the Rams’ most prolific tackler at the safety position since Adam Archuleta was at his best in the early 2000s. The unfortunate thing about McDonald’s run with the Rams so far is that he’s dealt with rather serious injuries during both his rookie season in 2013 and during his third year, 2015. When he was fully healthy in 2014, though, he was dynamic, collecting a total of 105 tackles for the season, plus two sacks and a 20-yard interception return.

It’s not as if McDonald wasn’t productive during his two partial seasons, either: he was arguably the Rams’ most consistent defensive back in 2013, tallying 52 tackles for the year with a sack and an interception. During 2015, he had 62 tackles and a sack through 11 games, and if he would have stayed healthy for the remainder of the schedule, he would have been on pace for roughly 90 tackles, a very respectable total for a safety.

McDonald hasn’t quite reached that Pro Bowl level of productivity thus far, but if he can stay healthy moving forward, he’s definitely shown that he has the potential to do so. Though three years, he’s delivered very good value for having been a third-round pick.

Next: 25. Ron Bartell