What if the Rams never selected Aaron Donald with the 13th pick in the 2014 NFL draft? It’s not a scenario any fan ever wants to think about, but there is an alternate universe in which St. Louis passes on the player who would quickly become an all-world pass rusher in the NFL.
Brad Holmes, who was the Rams’ director of college scouting, revealed on “The Season with Peter Schrager” that St. Louis received strong offer for the 13th pick in the draft that year. Fortunately, the Rams emphatically turned it down, but had they made the deal, they likely would’ve missed out on the future Hall of Famer – assuming the team that wanted to move up was targeting Donald.
“The sights were set on Aaron Donald,” Holmes said of the Rams’ target at No. 13 overall. “And I’ll never forget we got to that pick and a team called and they offered a pretty enticing trade offer. And I remember Jeff (Fisher) and Les (Snead) were like, ‘Absolutely not. We’re picking this guy and that’s just it.’”
Snead and Fisher obviously liked Donald a lot, as did Holmes – especially after seeing him work out and prepare before the draft. But it was Ray Agnew, former assistant general manager of the Rams, who really pounded the table for Donald.
“And I’ll never forget in that draft meeting, our assistant general manager, Ray Agnew, he was the one that really like – in that draft meeting leading up to that draft, because a lot of people were saying because of his size, he was going to be sub-rush, specialized package nickel-sub-rush guy,” Holmes recalled. “And I’ll never forget, Ray Agnew was like, ‘No, no, no, no, no, no, no. He’s every-down. It’s no specialized nothing. And he said it with the most passion.”
The NFL is full of what-ifs, but thankfully, we don’t have to worry about this one with the Rams. They stood pat and took Donald at No. 13, which is one of the best picks in franchise history.
