There isn’t a better interior pass rusher in the NFL right now than Aaron Donald. The reigning two-time Defensive Player of the Year is coming off a historic season in which he recorded 20.5 sacks – the most ever by a defensive tackle – an NFL-high 25 tackles for loss and 113 quarterback pressures, which also led the league.
The sheer dominance Donald displays at his size is staggering, but he doesn’t press for sacks, either. He doesn’t set out to get four sacks in a game. He lets the game come to him and tries to do what he can to help the team, not his individual numbers.
“If you would’ve asked me five years ago if I would have an opportunity to have 23 sacks in one season, I would’ve laughed at you and said, `That’s impossible,’” Donald said in a phone interview with NBC Los Angeles. “You would like to accomplish something like that, but in the mix of doing your job and helping your team win, you play at a high level. So all that’s going to come about on its own. Because the more you think about it, the less success you have.
“Go out there and play and let the game come to you, and good things come from that. It’s worked for me so far.”
Donald said he’s working on “hand speed and reaction” this offseason, trying to use things that are “outside the box” to help him improve even more. It’s hard to imagine Donald getting any better than he already is, but he’s never satisfied.
It helps that he’s driven to reach (and win) the Super Bowl next season, as is everyone in Los Angeles.
“The main goal is to be the No. 1 team standing and call yourself a champion,” Donald said. “So I’m just working, trying to get myself better and continue to improve my game.”
