Aaron Donald has evolved into the most dominant defender in the NFL over the years for the Los Angeles Rams, which has caused offenses to center their attention on containing him. The three-time Defensive Player of the Year has gotten double-teamed quite often in recent seasons, and that remains the same in 2021.
Despite being double-teamed at such a high rate this season, Donald continues to reign supreme as an elite interior defender in his age-30 season.
Donald is in a class of his own when it comes to winning his pass-rushing reps whenever he’s double-teamed. The next closest defender to Donald in pass-rush win rate combined with double-team rate is J.J. Watt, who will miss the rest of the season for the Arizona Cardinals. Donald’s 27% pass-rush win rate is the highest among all defensive tackles and is just 1% shy of the league leader, Jadeveon Clowney.
Aaron Donald is still king.
Double-team rate as a pass rushing defensive tackle (x) by pass rush win rate as a defensive tackle (y). pic.twitter.com/sB2T5rU1DF
— Seth Walder (@SethWalder) November 20, 2021
Through the first 10 games of the season for the Rams, Donald has recorded 45 combined tackles, nine tackles for a loss, six sacks, three deflections, and one forced fumble. Even though he isn’t leading the Defensive Player of the Year conversation thus far, Donald is still having a fantastic season for Los Angeles.
The six-time All-Pro will hope to put together a strong finish to the season with Von Miller and Leonard Floyd rushing off of the edge on both sides. Donald will get an opportunity to add to his production in Week 12 in a pivotal road game versus Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.
Before the season got underway, Donald jokingly said that he’s beginning to feel older entering his eighth season in the league. While Donald might feel older, his performance on the field isn’t showing any signs of him slowing down anytime soon.
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