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Teaching Tape: Aaron Donald is the exception to the rule/PFF
| July 19, 2017 01:41PM | Registered: 14 years ago Posts: 26,195 Status: HOF Inductee |
Teaching Tape: Aaron Donald is the exception to the rule
BY MICHAEL RENNER •
In the spring of 2014, no one knew what to make of one particular undersized defensive tackle out of Pittsburgh. To say Aaron Donald didn’t fit the NFL mold was an understatement. Measuring in a shade over six-feet and only 285 pounds, Donald was a good two inches shorter and 15 pounds lighter than the prototypical measurements at the position. Marcell Dareus, Gerald McCoy and Ndamukong Suh – the three defensive tackles prior to Donald to be drafted in the top-5 – were all at least 6-3, 300 pounds.
When it came to college production though, there were no question marks. Donald posted double-digit sack seasons twice in his four years at Pitt. As a senior, his 28.5 tackles for loss led the nation. While this was prior to our grading of college football, we did grade the 2014 Senior Bowl game where he was far and away the highest graded player there in 33 snaps.
Yet even with that elite level production, on May 8th of that year 12 players heard their name called before Donald. There were multiple teams in need of defensive tackle help running 4-3 schemes that passed on the Pittsburgh product. Heck, even the team that eventually drafted him, the (now) Los Angeles Rams, overlooked him initially in favor of Greg Robinson (who didn’t even finish his rookie contract with the team) at the top of the draft. The rest is history as Donald has become the single most impactful defensive player in the NFL.
Read Complete Article
[www.profootballfocus.com]
BY MICHAEL RENNER •
In the spring of 2014, no one knew what to make of one particular undersized defensive tackle out of Pittsburgh. To say Aaron Donald didn’t fit the NFL mold was an understatement. Measuring in a shade over six-feet and only 285 pounds, Donald was a good two inches shorter and 15 pounds lighter than the prototypical measurements at the position. Marcell Dareus, Gerald McCoy and Ndamukong Suh – the three defensive tackles prior to Donald to be drafted in the top-5 – were all at least 6-3, 300 pounds.
When it came to college production though, there were no question marks. Donald posted double-digit sack seasons twice in his four years at Pitt. As a senior, his 28.5 tackles for loss led the nation. While this was prior to our grading of college football, we did grade the 2014 Senior Bowl game where he was far and away the highest graded player there in 33 snaps.
Yet even with that elite level production, on May 8th of that year 12 players heard their name called before Donald. There were multiple teams in need of defensive tackle help running 4-3 schemes that passed on the Pittsburgh product. Heck, even the team that eventually drafted him, the (now) Los Angeles Rams, overlooked him initially in favor of Greg Robinson (who didn’t even finish his rookie contract with the team) at the top of the draft. The rest is history as Donald has become the single most impactful defensive player in the NFL.
Read Complete Article
[www.profootballfocus.com]
| Subject | Author | Views | Posted |
|---|---|---|---|
 | RamBill | 453 | July 19, 2017 01:41PM |
| Classicalwit | 167 | July 21, 2017 05:02AM |
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This web site is in no way affiliated with the NFL or the Los Angeles Rams.