LOS ANGELES -- The last nine days helped set the market for cornerbacks and defensive tackles, two markets that just so happen to be of particular interest to the Los Angeles Rams. Desmond Trufant, the Atlanta Falcons' primary corner, signed a five-year, $69 million extension on April 8. Kawann Short, the Carolina Panthers' menacing interior defender, inked a five-year, $80 million extension on Monday.

So what, exactly, can this mean for Trumaine Johnson and Aaron Donald?

Johnson is set to play under his second consecutive franchise tag, one that will pay him a whopping $16,742,400 in 2017. But the two sides have until July 15 to agree on an extension. Donald had his fifth-year option exercised last week, which means he will make $6,892,000 in 2018. But a contract extension is already at the forefront of the Rams' plans.

Johnson and Donald are linked here, but the circumstances surrounding them are vastly different.

The Rams prefer to wait on Johnson, and they will probably have to with Donald.

Donald deserves to be paid among the best at his position, while Johnson already is, some would say undeservedly.

Johnson's price will be influenced by the comps at corner, but Donald, the game's best interior pass rusher by a wide margin, may set a whole new market standard on his own.

For proof, look no further than Short, who is 28 years old, has been invited to one Pro Bowl and was rated the third-best interior defender by Pro Football Focus last year. Over the last three years, Short has racked up 20 1/2 sacks and 29 1/2 disrupted dropbacks. His extension -- taking the place of a franchise tag for 2017 -- carries an average annual value of $16 million, which trails only the deals of the Dolphins' Ndamukong Suh ($19.06 million), the Eagles' Fletcher Cox ($17.1 million) and the Bills' Marcell Dareus ($16.1 million) among interior linemen.

That's a lot of money, right?

Well, now consider Donald. He won't even turn 26 until May 23. He's already made three Pro Bowls and has been named first-team All-Pro twice. In three years, he has racked up 28 sacks and 34 disrupted dropbacks. In each of the last two, Pro Football Focus has graded him the game's best defensive player, regardless of position.

The Short extension doesn't provide a comp for Donald as much as it does an indication of just how expensive it will be for the Rams to keep him. The three largest contracts for defensive linemen belong to Suh ($114.38 million), Cox ($102.6 million) and the Texans' J.J. Watt ($100.01 million). Cox ($63.3 million), Dareus ($60 million) and Suh ($59.96 million) got the most in guaranteed money. At this point, it would be a surprise if Donald didn't top all of those figures and perhaps even surpass the game's highest-paid defensive player, Von Miller, who signed a six-year, $114.5 million contract that guaranteed him $70 million last July.

Rams general manager Les Snead acknowledged during the scouting combine that extending Donald is already a primary objective, saying: "It's definitely coming. The guy deserves a raise, there's no doubt."

As for Johnson, who, like Donald, will now play under new defensive coordinator Wade Phillips?

"Because everyone is new, we need to work together, live together, see if we all fit," Snead said. "Does Tru fit Wade? Does Wade fit Tru? Because it's obvious by the tag number, and what corners get paid, it's a heavy investment, and you want to be right. Especially when you go long term."

Trufant is the latest example that Johnson would indeed warrant a heavy investment. Trufant turns 27 on Sept. 10, while Johnson turned 27 on New Year's Day. Over the last four years, Trufant has made 57 starts and one Pro Bowl, registering seven interceptions and 34 passes defended, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Pro Football Focus graded him 30th among cornerbacks last year. Johnson hasn't yet been invited to the Pro Bowl and has played four fewer games, while registering 11 fewer defended passes, over these last four years. But he has double the interceptions, 14, since 2013. And Pro Football Focus graded him 25th among cornerbacks in 2016.

Point is, Johnson isn't too far off from Trufant. And yet Trufant's extension ranks fourth among NFL corners in average annual value, trailing only the deals of Washington's Josh Norman ($15 million), the Cardinals' Patrick Peterson ($14.01 million) and the Seahawks' Richard Sherman ($14 million). His guarantee also ranks fourth, behind Norman ($50 million), Peterson ($47.37 million) and the Browns' Joe Haden ($45.08 million). And the total value ranks third, behind only Norman ($75 million) and Peterson ($70.05 million).

The Rams project to have about $53 million in salary-cap space for 2018 and then $89 million in 2019, according to Spotrac. But including Johnson, they have 10 key defensive players set to hit the free-agent market after the 2017 season.

One year after that, it will be Donald, who looms over all of them.