A talented, experienced defensive line wasn’t just the strength of the Rams franchise that returned last year from St. Louis.

When William Hayes and company would chirp with their offensive counterparts, especially during the offseason program and training camp, it felt like the heart of the team.

A week into Sean McVay’s first training camp as head coach, so much has changed.

Hayes and Eugene Sims are gone. Aaron Donald is holding out. Robert Quinn has been moved to outside linebacker. Dominique Easley has been lost for the season with a torn ACL.

“Yeah, you know it is really unfortunate because you talk about a guy that was doing things the right way, you really felt his presence,” McVay said regarding losing Easley. “You can see that he is one of the guys that the teammates really love and respect.”

At the moment, Michael Brockers is the Rams' only defensive lineman who started more than two games last year.

“It’s really unfortunate for us,” McVay said, “but like we have talked about before, it is the next man up mentality.”

Ethan Westbrooks, Louis Trinca-Pasat and Tanzel Smart look like the next men up for the defensive front.

“We’ve got some depth at that D-line like we’ve talked about,” McVay said.

Westbrooks, who made 46 tackles, two sacks and two starts a year ago, is already an established member of the team.

Trinca-Pasat, a 6-foot-1, 300-pound undrafted free agent out of Iowa, spent nearly all of the last two seasons on the practice squad and injured reserve.

But he has been making an impact in his third offseason with the Rams.

McVay described Trinca-Pasat as “a guy that’s just doing things the right way, consistency, dependability, reliability – very physical player, hard to move.

“So in the little bit that we’ve seen from him with the offseason program and then when you put the pads on, I think he has done a nice job for us.”

Trinca-Pasat called practicing with the starters this week “a great challenge.”

“Going against the starters, it’s a great opportunity for me to improve,” Trinca-Pasat said. “It’s a change to compete, show the coaches what I can do and earn my spot.”

A couple of years in the defensive line room has helped Trinca-Pasat improve.

“You learn a lot,” Trinca-Pasat said. “It’s a big transition from college to the NFL. Being with basically the best defensive tackle in the league (Donald) and Easley inside, you learn a lot. Those are first-round picks. They’ve got talent. You just kind of see what they do and what works for them. You see how they practice and see how they work and study and you try to emulate that.”

Smart, a 6-foot-1, 290-pound rookie, was drafted in the sixth round this year out of Tulane.

“I’m not getting comfortable, that’s for sure,” Smart said. “I can’t get comfortable. We’re competing out here every day. I have to come out here and show them why they drafted me every day. They took a chance on me and I got to do good for them, man.”

RECEIVER REINFORCEMENTS

The Rams now have 14 receivers on the roster after signing former Baylor wideout K.D. Cannon on Thursday, one day after undrafted free agents C.J. Germany and Justin Thomas were added.

Offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur said the additions were a response to injuries to Tavon Austin and Josh Reynolds.

“Well, we may have 14, but as you know, we have a lot guys out," LaFleur said. "I think the one thing that’s so important about the receivers is you have to keep those guy’s legs fresh. Otherwise, they are going to go down eventually, so it’s all about saving that wear and tear on their legs."