Aaron Donald Legacy Game?

Aaron Donald Legacy Game?

As the Los Angeles Rams prepare to face the Cincinnati Bengals, their star defensive tackle might be about to play in the biggest contest of his life. Is Super Bowl LVI an Aaron Donald Legacy game?

On the surface, most would consider Donald to be one of the best defensive tackles in history. But what will he need to do to be THE best? Well, let us take a look at his already stellar career.

Aaron: All the Accolades

So far, Aaron Donald has played eight seasons in the NFL. During his inaugural campaign in 2014, Donald won Defensive Rookie of the Year. In the seven subsequent seasons, Donald was named to the 1st-Team All-Pro list seven straight times. If he continues this stellar career, he could reasonably match or even break the record for most 1st-Team All-Pro nominations. The current leaders are center Jim Otto and wide receiver Jerry Rice with 10 1st-Team All-Pro seasons each.

In addition to all of the All-Pro love that Donald has received, he also made the 2010s NFL All-Decade Team. This is in spite of the fact, that Donald only played 6 seasons in that decade. But as noted with all of his All-Pro caliber seasons, Donald is too great to be denied.

Finally, the Defensive Player of the Year has been an official NFL award since 1971. Donald has been named the best defensive player in the league three times. That puts him alongside Lawrence Taylor and J.J. Watt for the most DPOY awards in NFL history. It is not out of the question that Donald wins another one during his career and would thus hold the record all by himself.

Donald by the Numbers

The primary reason that Aaron Donald has won so many individual accolades, is the consistent excellence he demonstrates on the field. As a defensive lineman, his impact is felt in the run-stopping game, but also from a pass-rush perspective. The latter is truly what separates him from his peers. Primarily, defensive tackles are meant to occupy rush lanes and collapse the pocket around the quarterback. However, Donald is almost transcendent with his production considering how easy it is to double team interior linemen.

Starting with the run game, Donald has 150 career tackles for loss. Officially the NFL has only been counting that statistic since 1999. Regardless, up to this point in his 8-year career, Donald has already climbed the mountain and is currently 9th all-time in career NFL Tackles for Loss. And with only four active players currently ahead of him, Donald could legitimately be in the top 3 after only a couple more seasons at his current pace. Even the current record of 202 tackles for loss, held by Terrell Suggs, is in danger of falling to Donald in the next half-decade.

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As a pass-rusher, Donald’s dominance is almost unparrelled from an interior line perspective. Officially, the NFL only started counting sacks in 1982. However, some retroactive stats chasing has NFL sacks for players dating back to 1960. In 2018, Donald produced 20.5 sacks, most in the NFL that season. He became only the fifth defensive tackle since 1960 to lead the league in sacks. The other four are Jim Katcavage, Gary Johnson, John Randle, and La’Roi Glover, with the latter being the most recent winner during the 2000 season.

Of those 4 players, only Randle has more career sacks than Donald. However, with only 127 career games (less than all those other defensive tackles) Donald has a career average of 0.77 sacks a game. Compare that to Randle with 137.5 sacks in 219 matches (0.63 sacks/game), and clearly, Donald is the more efficient and proficient pass-rusher. What he has done in his career as an interior pass-rusher is practically unprecedented.

All-Time Great

The real question is where Aaron Donald will end up among the all-time greats. Looking specifically at the defensive tackle position, there are seven players listed at DT on the NFL 100 All-Time Team. Of those seven players, five have won at least one Super Bowl ring. Only Merlin Olsen and the already mentioned John Randle are on that NFL 100 team as defensive tackles without winning a championship.

Eventually, when the NFL makes the 125th-anniversary list, I expect to see Aaron Donald’s name. Based on his career thus far, I believe Donald has earned that distinction with his truly dominant play. If he continues to produce at his current pace, Donald certainly will enter the conversation of the greatest defensive tackle in NFL history. However, in order to equal or surpass players like Joe Greene or Bob Lilly, Donald will likely need to win a championship.

During his time with the Rams, Donald has helped the organization reach one Super Bowl. In that game, the defense did their part holding a Tom Brady-led offense to only 13 points. However, the Rams fell in that match, but now they have a second chance. Getting the win in Super Bowl LVI would be an astonishing accomplishment for the Rams teams, but also for Donald as an individual. If he wants to become the greatest defensive tackle in NFL history Donald likely needs to help his team win the big game at least once. Perhaps there will never be a better chance than in Super Bowl LVI. Welcome to the legacy game for Donald.

Thank you for reading this piece about Aaron Donald’s legacy. Be sure to check out Full Press Coverage for more great Super Bowl content.

– Kyle Senra is the managing editor for the Full Press Fantasy Sports. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @SenraSays Follow @FPC_FantasyPod and Facebook.