Aaron Donald’s performance at the 2014 NFL combine helped him land in the top 15, even though in hindsight, he still should have gone much earlier. He tore up the workouts in Indianapolis six years ago, running the 40-yard dash in 4.68 seconds, doing the short shuttle in 4.39 seconds and benching 225 pounds 35 times.
His 35 bench-press reps were tied for the seventh-most of any prospect that year, and his strength hasn’t gone away with age, either. Donald recently matched his combine total of 35 reps and made it look easy.
Some might criticize Donald for not locking his elbows on these reps, but there’s absolutely no denying his upper body strength. It’s how he’s able to bull rush offensive linemen so easily and make plays in the backfield as often as he does.
Donald has been putting in work all offseason and vows to be ready when the 2020 season eventually begins – whether that’s on Sept. 13 against the Cowboys or at a later date.
