Before Aaron Donald, a lot of defensive players have come and gone. Even in an offensive league, one NFL insider believes that the Rams' star defensive lineman is the best to ever play on the defending side of the ball. On Good Morning Football, Peter Schrager lauded praise onto the star pass rusher.
"I said on the NFL gameday show yesterday, I think he might be the greatest defensive player ever. Ever," Schrager said. "And like I think, all due respect to Warren Sapp, and John Randle, and Mean Joe Greene. I think he's the greatest defensive tackle of all time. I think last night solidified that."
"But he's up there with LT, he's up there with Reggie White," Schrager added. "I've never seen anyone disrupt football the way he does on a down to town basis. And now he’s a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, a Super Bowl champion, and he had one of his best nights in the biggest game of his career.”
Aaron Donald: a career for the ages
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Defensive linemen aren't typically sack-masters. They are expected to eat up blocks and stop the run more than other pass-rush positions. They're often double-teamed and triple-teamed by offensive linemen and often become lost in the shuffle. That said, that is not the case for Aaron Donald, who is in the middle of one of the strongest stretches of dominance in NFL history.
In total, the pass rusher has only had two seasons in which he failed to earn double-digit sacks (eight in 2016 and nine in 2014). Since 2017, the defensive lineman has earned at least 11 sacks each season. In 2018, he got within a stone's throw of getting the record for sacks in a season. In total, he crossed the rare mark of 20 sacks at 20.5.
Since 2018, the rusher has earned 12.5, 13.5, and 12.5 sacks in 2019, 2020, and 2021 respectively. Despite not coming close to setting a career record for sacks, Donald arguably still had one of the best seasons of his career once one considers that he had a career-high for tackles at 84.
However, this may be the end for Donald. Just an hour before the game, reports surfaced that he might retire with a Super Bowl victory. Considering the Rams went on to win, his future is unknown. Meanwhile, his teammate Von Miller, 33 years old, hasn't talked about retirement, but he is another player to watch as well.
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