Rams' Aaron Donald well on his way to NFL's best-ever defender

The best defensive player of all time only made it to Tier 2 of Yardbarker's Hall of Fame tiers.

OK, maybe Aaron Donald, the Los Angeles Rams' defensive tackle, isn’t currently the best defensive player of all time, but when his career is over, he will be. I know — bold prediction, given that he’d have to supplant Lawrence Taylor, Ronnie Lott, Dick Butkus, Ray Lewis, Reggie White, and untold others who have at least some claim to that title. If anyone can do it, though, it’s Donald.

By any measure, and there are many methods used to try to better understand football, Donald stands out among his peers.

Since the sack became an official statistic in 1982, only three defensive linemen have more sacks in their first five seasons than Donald’s 59.5: Reggie White with 81, J.J. Watt with 74.5 and Richard Dent with 61.5. White and Dent were pure edge rushers, while Watt plays more of a hybrid 3-4 defensive end position. But Donald is unique in that he’s putting up incredible stats while lining up as a tackle, not a spot that normally goes hand in hand with gaudy numbers.

White and Dent are in the Hall of Fame, and Watt will be there when his career ends.

Donald is in the same rarefied air when it comes to first-team All-Pro selections in his first five seasons. He has four in a row entering 2019 — in the Super Bowl era, only White and Watt can match him. He is the reigning two-time Defensive Player of the Year, should be the favorite to make it three in a row, and there’s no reason to think he’ll slow down anytime soon. That last part is key. Evaluating players’ credentials for all-time greatest status involves speculating about how well they’ll age. At a position where the best of the best aren’t always the most physically fit, Donald stands out. There doesn’t appear to be an ounce of fat on him. He works out like a maniac and by all accounts isn’t resting on his laurels.

Watt has fantastic numbers but missed 24 of a possible 32 games in 2016 and 2017 due to injuries. Back and leg injuries make it impossible to count on him playing well into his mid-30s.

Donald has missed only two games in five seasons, neither of which was due to injury. At only 6-foot-1, he’s built low to the ground and would seem less prone to the kind of freak injuries that can happen when taller players overextend a limb or get caught in an awkward position. He’s the one getting the leverage; delivering the punishment. That doesn’t mean he couldn’t get hurt randomly —that can happen at any time — but it does make such a situation seem less likely.

Donald’s unique stature for the position also works in his favor. He is shorter and lighter than most defensive tackles but also quicker and more powerful than almost all of them. NFL analysts and scouts love comparisons. No matter how dominant a player might be, there’s usually someone from the past to compare him to. Who fits that bill in Donald’s case? He is a unicorn. That’s part of what makes him so unstoppable. The only way to slow him is to structure an entire game plan around avoiding him, and that in and of itself gives the Rams an advantage over their opponents and is a testament to his greatness.

If the traditional stats are kind to Donald, so too are advanced metrics. Pro Football Focus’ claim to fame is grading every player, for every team, on every play. It also uses a different rubric than most, not simply rewarding the result but instead looking at all the variables that make a play successful or not. Donald has been its highest-graded interior defender four years running. His rookie season was a real disappointment — he finished second, barely trailing Watt.

Then there’s the eye test. Just watch Donald play. He destroys everything in front of him. He’s in the backfield constantly. Sacks and quarterback hits are great measures of disruptiveness, but so are quarterback hurries. Donald is the gold standard in all three. He snuffs out plays before they start and is elite against the run. In 2017 and 2018, Donald had 33 sacks, 33 quarterback hits and an astonishing 131 quarterback hurries, according to Pro Football Focus. No other defensive lineman reached 100 in hurries in the same span, none came close to his sack total and only a few bested the hit total.

Aaron Donald, greatest defensive player of all time? Don’t scoff. If his next five years are anything like the five we’ve just witnessed, he’ll be well on his way to standing alone at the top.