What Aaron Donald is able to do from his defensive tackle position is rare. Few interior defenders in the history of the NFL can get to the quarterback the way Donald can. He’s been the best defensive player in the league the last two years and while he hasn’t been as dominant this year, he has been extremely disruptive.
Somewhat surprisingly, Donald isn’t Pro Football Focus’ top-ranked pass rusher through the first nine weeks of the season. Instead, that title went to Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns.
Donald has gotten things going in the last few weeks, though, and is sitting at five sacks on the year.
After a bit of a slow start, Donald is once again making his way toward the top. He’s earned pass-rushing grades over 90.0 in three of his last four games. After racking up over 100 pressures last year, he’s a bit behind pace with 39 this season.
Garrett has three fewer pressures than Donald, but he has double the sacks (10), which is tied for the second-most in the NFL. There’s no denying Garrett is a great pass rusher, but Donald has done as a defensive tackle is equally impressive.
Really, you’re splitting hairs when deciding between Donald and Garrett as the best pass rusher in the league, and the Bosa and Watt Brothers aren’t far behind, either.
