EARTH CITY, Mo. — St. Louis Rams coach Jeff Fisher and defensive coordinator Gregg Williams believe the team is making strides on defense, and a big reason is the continued development of strong safety T.J. McDonald, a third-round pick in 2013, and free safety Rodney McLeod, an undrafted free agent in 2012.

“They’re very good players,” Williams said. “They do a great job with all of the adjustments. Our safeties have to be in sync with the middle linebacker. Then our safeties and the middle linebacker have to be an extension of me from the sideline in the communication process of all the multiple things that we do.

“They’re playing really good right now, playing at a really high level, and they’re able to make some nice plays on interceptions, pass breakups and also some contact issues, legally the way they’re supposed to do it. They’re doing very well. I’m very pleased with them. They’re young and they’re only going to get better.”

McDonald is third on the team with 93 tackles, while McLeod has 72. McDonald is second with 66 solo stops.

Fisher has said he thinks McDonald is playing at a Pro Bowl level, and McDonald was asked by the Oakland media where he believes he and McLeod rank.

“I think that you have to put us up there with the top,” McDonald said. “I think that right now, how we’re playing and what we’ve been doing (is good) — tackling well, doing things as far as showing different coverages and whatnot, confusing different offenses and being able to come down and make plays. It all comes down to making plays, and I feel like we’ve made plays. I think that we just have to keep putting those games together.”

Williams also rates McDonald as Pro Bowl-caliber.

“I think he is, I really do,” Williams said. “Really this last month he’s played better each and every week. We’re challenging him a lot behind the scenes. He’s accepting every challenge. … I’ve been real pleased with how he’s playing. Got to continue to stay healthy, but he’s playing at an awful high level.”

While there were those who stereotyped McDonald as merely a box safety, Williams said, “I liked him coming out and I really believe that his cover skills are more than adequate. He can do an awful lot of things in a lot of different systems, a lot of different design of the coverages. Until you get a chance to go and be with him and see all the different things that he can do, I think we’ve just scratched the surface on some of the things that we can do with him. He’s a part of the game plan every week.”

McDonald and McLeod have asserted themselves as leaders, along with middle linebacker James Laurinaitis.

“You’ll see that leadership has no age,” Williams said. “Guys who are leaders on your team set an example that somebody else wants to be like them. I think you’re starting to see him be more vocal, too because the example of his play is now allowing him to speak more and he’s starting to say more and do more things behind the scenes from a leadership role that normal people want to say, ‘Well because a guy’s talking he must be a leader.’ Talking’s not leadership. Doing is leadership, and then when you do say something maybe they’ll pay attention. He’s doing a good job with that.”