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theramswire.usatoday.com] PFF names Aaron Donald as the Rams' most underrated player
Cameron DaSilva
May 15, 2022 5:00 am PT
Aaron Donald, underrated?
That’s what Pro Football Focus’ Sam Monson says.
Monson picked the most underrated player on every team heading into the 2022 season and for the Rams, it was Donald he highlighted. It might seem crazy that the three-time Defensive Player of the Year and wrecker of all offenses could be considered underrated, but his dominance is sometimes underappreciated because his greatness has become so normal.
Defensive tackles aren’t supposed to average 12-plus sacks per season like Donald has in his career. They’re not supposed to hit the quarterback almost twice per game like Donald does. Donald is simply different. Here’s what Monson wrote about Donald being the Rams’ most underrated player for the second time in the last three years.
Yes, you read that right. No matter how good you believe Donald to be, chances are the data says he’s better. Donald is redefining pass rushing from an interior alignment. Edge rushers generate significantly more pressure than their interior counterparts. They may have further to travel to get the pressure, but they have more space to work with and much more of their rush takes place out of the quarterback’s field of vision. Donald doesn’t just rival any edge rusher in the league for pressure, he exceeds them all. Over the past three seasons, Donald leads all pass-rushers in pressures by 32 from the next best mark. He has a pass-rush win rate of 23.2%, which is also the best mark in the league. Donald is the best pass-rusher the NFL has seen over the past 16 seasons of PFF grading and is in another world compared to any player at his position.
Donald has finished in the top five in Defensive Player of the Year voting in each of the last seven years, he’s an eight-time Pro Bowler and has been a first-team All-Pro seven times. No player has displayed the consistency and sheer dominance that Donald has since 2014.
It’s why he’s already locked in as a first-ballot Hall of Famer whenever he decides to retire.
