In the spring of 2014, no one knew what to make of one particular undersized defensive tackle out of Pittsburgh. To say Aaron Donald didn’t fit the NFL mold was an understatement. Measuring in a shade over six-feet and only 285 pounds, Donald was a good two inches shorter and 15 pounds lighter than the prototypical measurements at the position. Marcell Dareus, Gerald McCoy and Ndamukong Suh – the three defensive tackles prior to Donald to be drafted in the top-5 – were all at least 6-3, 300 pounds.
When it came to college production though, there were no question marks. Donald posted double-digit sack seasons twice in his four years at Pitt. As a senior, his 28.5 tackles for loss led the nation. While this was prior to our grading of college football, we did grade the 2014 Senior Bowl game where he was far and away the highest graded player there in 33 snaps.
Yet even with that elite level production, on May 8th of that year 12 players heard their name called before Donald. There were multiple teams in need of defensive tackle help running 4-3 schemes that passed on the Pittsburgh product. Heck, even the team that eventually drafted him, the (now) Los Angeles Rams, overlooked him initially in favor of Greg Robinson (who didn’t even finish his rookie contract with the team) at the top of the draft. The rest is history as Donald has become the single most impactful defensive player in the NFL.
While many basic scouting cutoffs of size/speed/length/etc. have come from legitimate concerns, any hard-fast rule will have its exceptions. And it’s difficult to find a bigger exception than Aaron Donald. That’s why this Teaching Tape is a little different than all the others in that usually I’m highlighting how a scheme conforms to talent. When talking about Donald, the scheme really doesn’t matter. The man could probably play off-ball linebacker at a high level. That’s how talented he is. What matters is how his immense skill set transcends all schemes and preconceived notions about how defensive tackle is supposed to be played.
The single biggest concern with Donald coming out was his ability to hold up in the running game – specifically against double teams. While one might have argued (correctly in my opinion) that it was 2014 and no one really cared about the running game anymore, but it was obviously a big deal. Nolan Nawrocki, who infamously gave Donald a 4th/5th round grade, wrote, “Overpowered in the run game and ground up by double teams. Gets snared and controlled by bigger, longer blockers. Not a two-gap player.” The majority of scouting reports on Donald echoed the same sentiments and read as if they were written solely by looking at his measurables. The fact of the matter is though that everyone cedes ground versus double teams. I could pull up five clips right now of Damon Harrison – the best nose tackle in the league – getting driven multiple yards off the ball. If one has a preconceived notion that a defensive tackle won’t be able to hold up versus doubles based on his size, then they are far more likely to notice the times he doesn’t.
Since entering the NFL, Donald has not only held up versus double teams, he’s also been able to make plays despite them. As with anything in football there are multiple ways to get the same job done. A couple months back I wrote about how Damon Harrison dominated doubles by attacking the point man then throwing him to the side. Donald often takes a different approach. With his size/speed combination, he has three things he can use to his advantage: quickness, leverage and lack of a strike zone. This allows him to knife into the sweet spot of a double team and not let either linemen engage him cleanly. On the play below you can see how it’s done.
I was told Aaron Donald would not be able to hold up to double teams in the NFL pic.twitter.com/Ntke7pIeVI
— Mike Renner (@PFF_Mike) July 19, 2017
Donald gets skinny from the snap, making the right guard's contact inconsequential. It also leaves the right tackle a tiny area to engage. Combine that with the speed that Donald comes off the ball, and the right tackle has little to no shot of actually getting Donald cleanly. Nearly the exact same thing happens again in the play below.
— Mike Renner (@PFF_Mike) July 19, 2017
This isn’t simply a case of highlight reel scouting though, Donald took only nine downgrades against double teams in the run game all season long. That’s a tiny bit more than one every two games. Compare that with the fact that Donald made 30 total stops against the run and you have one of the most complete run defenders in the game.
When we talk about Aaron Donald though, much like in the pre-draft process, his ability in run defense should be an afterthought. The man gets to quarterbacks more often, and with more speed, than any other interior defender in the NFL. And it’s not even close.
The same traits that Donald uses to his advantage against double teams are also his calling card as a pass rusher. He’s always the low man and with his speed and small stature, offensive linemen struggle mightily to land a meaningful punch. Because of all that, no one in the league has more decisive pressures.
Aaron Donald plays football with the difficulty set to easy pic.twitter.com/OEGQ0qnnAC
— Gordon McGuinness (@PFF_Gordon) May 3, 2017
Look at the immediacy with which Donald wins in the video above. It’s almost difficult to believe that he only collected eight total sacks a season ago.
With Wade Phillips coming over from Denver to take the job as defensive coordinator with the Rams, it doesn’t look like Aaron Donald’s dominance is going to end anytime soon. Phillips has excelled at scheming his talent one-on-one’s over the years, a situation in which Donald is nearly unblockable. After being ranked the number one player on our preseason PFF 50, don’t be surprised if he tops the list at year end as well.
© 2024 PFF - all rights reserved.