2. Aaron Donald: And then there were two. These always go by so quickly. Just a few years ago, he made his debut on this project. The following year in 2019, he was the guy on top. He became the second defensive player ever to be ranked first. J.J. Watt was number one back in 2015. Last season, he didn’t make it which made the project somewhat controversial in a way. Hence the title, he’s back and better than ever. Aaron Donald makes his more than deserving return to the list. He is my second-ranked player and my top defensive player entering the upcoming season.
I’m a former defensive lineman. Some of the things I’ve seen him do have left me speechless. Many of his peers have stated they will watch tape on him to pick up what they can. If I needed an adjective to describe Aaron, it’s violent. If you watch him closely, look at his hands and how active he is to rip through people and shed blockers. I’ve seen many great interior defensive linemen, but none have done what 99 does. He can rush the passer from the interior of the defensive line which is rare. However, he has that speed to work in his favor. When you face him, you can’t hesitate. If you do, he will take full advantage of it and beat you. Rule of advice beat him to the punch. Aaron isn’t human. He’s built like a defensive tackle but has the speed of an inside linebacker to get where he wants. He gets places however he wants such as a bull-rush, a swim move, or just pure power. I say this to Cole Johnson all the time: Aaron Donald plays defensive tackle with the leverage of an offensive lineman. He’s a shorter guy, but extremely compact and powerful.
We are witnessing a man become one of the greatest defensive players in NFL history. He is the closest thing I’ve seen to John Randle. At this point, he may be better than John was. For the third time in four seasons, he was named the Defensive Player of the Year. Aaron became the third guy in NFL history to win the award three times joining J.J. Watt and Lawrence Taylor. He was the heartbeat of a Rams defense that ranked first in pass defense and points allowed. L.A. also ranked third in stopping the run.
