Last year was the first time in Aaron Donald’s illustrious career that he missed time due to injury. He was sidelined for six games with an ankle injury, resulting in what was statistically a down year for the perennial All-Pro.
He had just five sacks, 11 quarterback hits and 10 tackles for a loss, all of which were career-lows. During the offseason, he said he had a lot to prove and felt he needed to make a name for himself again.
Buy Rams Tickets“I feel like I’ve got to kind of remake my name all over again because I missed seven games last season with an injury,” Donald said in an interview with Haute Living. “I feel like I need to restart all over again, make a name for myself all over again, and that’s how I’m going about this year.”
Through four games this season, Donald has reminded everyone just how dominant he is. As Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus pointed out, he ranks first in pass-rush grade, pressures and pass-rush win rate among defensive tackles this season.
Lot of people were writing Aaron Donald off this offseason. (for real, not a I was told Steph Curry can't shoot thing)
Among Interior Defenders:
#1 PFF pass-rushing grade 92.3
#1 total pressures
#1 pass-rush win rateAaron Donald is still Aaron Donald.
— Sam Monson (@PFF_Sam) October 2, 2023
Even when looking at a larger scope of the league and not just defensive tackles, Donald is up there with the best. His pass-rush grade of 92.3 is lower than only Myles Garrett and Nick Bosa, and his 22 total pressures are fewer than only Aidan Hutchinson, Micah Parsons, Maxx Crosby and Garrett.
He’s been outstanding already this season, and he’s only getting better as it progresses. After recording seven total pressures in the first two games, he’s had seven and eight pressures in the last two games, recording pass-rush grades of 91.9 and 91.5 against the Bengals and Colts.
Anyone who wrote Donald off after an injury-shortened season did so much too prematurely.
