There are only a few players who truly force opposing coaches to build a game plan around them. Patrick Mahomes is one of them, as is Saquon Barkley, Khalil Mack and DeAndre Hopkins. There are of course others, but Aaron Donald might take the cake as the most difficult player to scheme against.
No matter how many reinforcements you commit to stopping him, he’s going to find a way to get into the backfield and wreak havoc on your offense. And sending two or three linemen his way only makes life easier for the Rams’ other defenders.
Even Sean McVay, one of the brightest minds in the NFL, has trouble coming up with a plan for slowing Donald down – not that he ever has to. He had a perfect response when asked by Panthers reporters how he would game plan against Donald.
McVay was clearly joking, but his answer is a testament to just how hard it is for teams to stop Donald. He had 20.5 sacks last season from the defensive tackle position, which has never been done before in the NFL.
He’s not like other interior defenders in the fact that he can rush the passer, defend the run and consistently win reps despite being double-teamed more often than not.
