Aaron Donald didn’t have a typical season in 2022. Few members of the Los Angeles Rams did. Not only did he miss time due to injury for the first time in his career, but he only had five sacks in 11 games played. He still managed to make the Pro Bowl, but for the first time since he was a rookie, Donald wasn’t named an All-Pro.
Pro Football Focus isn’t using last season as the baseline of Donald’s play moving forward, however. PFF still views him as the best interior defender in the NFL heading into the 2023 campaign, ranking him No. 1 at his position once again.
Despite posting his lowest PFF grade since his rookie year, Donald remains a dominant force on the defensive interior. In his nine-year career, he has produced 90.0-plus PFF grades in every season. Last year, he recorded 40 pressures on 396 pass-rushing snaps, so the production was still there even in an injury-marred season.
The player with the strongest case to unseat Donald atop PFF’s rankings is Chris Jones of the Chiefs, who was ranked No. 2 this year. He earned a 92.3 overall grade last season, the best of any interior defender, and tied a career-best with 15.5 sacks and 29 QB hits.
Both he and Donald are incredibly disruptive as defensive tackles, and there’s really no disputing them being the top two players at their position. But if Donald slows down at all in 2023, Jones could take over as the best defensive tackle in the NFL. Some would even argue Jones has already surpassed Donald, but we’re not going that far yet.
