There haven’t been many defensive tackles in NFL history who can rush the passer the way Aaron Donald does. He set the all-time record for a player at his position last season by recording 20.5 sacks, which also led the league.
His power and quickness are unmatched for a player on the interior of the defensive line, which is why he’s the reigning two-time Defensive Player of the Year. He’s the favorite to win his third straight, too, currently sitting at 11 sacks.
Seth Walder of ESPN shared a chart showing how often a pass rusher is double-teamed and how often he wins his pass-rush rep (beating a blocker in under 2.5 seconds). Most of the defensive tackles are in the same area on the graph, but Donald is in another world by himself.
As you can see, Donald wins more than 24% of his pass-rush reps despite being doubled more than 68% of the time. That’s an incredible ratio, which is why he’s by himself at the top right of the chart.
On the edge rusher graph, Dante Fowler Jr. is near the middle. He’s doubled about 19% of the time and wins about 25% of his reps, which is still an impressive rate.
