Browns prepare to face the “best player in the league”

Posted by Mike Florio on September 18, 2019, 6:53 PM EDT

He may not be among the way-too-early MVP candidates, but he continues to be regarded by many as the single best player in the NFL.

He’s Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald. He returns to NBC’s Sunday Night Football this week to face the Browns.

“He is the best player in the league,” Browns guard Joel Bitonio told reporters on Wednesday regarding Donald. “He is strong against the run. He is strong against the pass. He does everything well. People say coming out he was undersized slightly and things like that, but he has all of the power you need to play that position and all of the leverage you need. He has speed. When you think you are going to try to shut off the speed move, he can counter with his power move.

“That first step has people panic, and when people panic, you overset him or move too quick and he moves inside. He kind of plays everywhere. He is on the left, he is on the right, he lines up outside sometimes and they move him around. You can kind of tell with their defense he is definitely a focal point for a lot of teams so sometimes he does not have the stats. I think he only has two tackles this year maybe, but if you watch the film, he is making plays.”

Chris Simms would put those outcomes in the “eff up the play” statistical category. Donald likely leads the league on that front.

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[profootballtalk.nbcsports.com]