Quote
Coy Bacon
<snipped>
So RamBro, are you saying that you don't think Donald is worth it anymore, especially at the new price given the wear and tear?
No sir! Quite the opposite.
I'm just trying to see if I can "square" things with respect to the varied professional compliments I've heard with respect to Donald; a defensive player's true value to a team in today's NFL; his contract; and, fans' thoughts about him.
For example, I know that I've heard some commentators say that Aaron Donald is the THE BEST player in the NFL - PERIOD...full stop. Others won't go so far, choosing only to proclaim him to be the best defensive player in football (seemingly suggesting that only a QB can be considered to be the best player in football).
Both those are just commentators. I wonder what league GM's feel. And I think that only way that I think I can get an answer would be to ask them straight-up:
If you were the general manager of an expansion team that had the opportunity to select ANY current NFL player off of ANY current roster, who would that be? Due to the number of years Donald has already put in, I listed the caveat of: Assume the owner of said team wants a return on his/her investment (i.e. Super Bowl appearance) within two years. The caveat helps to narrow down who the best players are TODAY. This is why I mentioned Watt and Bosa. Both are great players TODAY and could be for several more years. But people still say that Donald is the best...so that says alot.
Although you and I may have a difference of opinion as to whether or not Donald is a better player than Kirk Cousins, we both agree that Donald is a better player than Jared Goff (and I don't think that we're alone in this feeling). But when Donald and the Rams negotiated his new contract to (somewhat) reflect this, some fans (including a few on this board) got upset. Either because of the belief that defenders aren't as valuable...or something else altogether.
Like I said...I'm just trying to square some things.