Aaron Donald took 2 years off football and still went beast mode

| Getty Images Aaron Donald was called an athletic freak throughout his Hall of Fame NFL career, but the truth is that he was so much more. Sure, Donald would beat you off the line with the best first step the defensive tackle position had ever seen, but he also has a preternatural understanding on snap counts, cadences, and could cue in on the tells of an offensive lineman within the first few snaps of a game, destined to make their life a living hell for the remaining 60 minutes of play. All those skills returned on Monday night in a display that was both awe-inspiring and mind-boggling, because a performance like the one Donald had against the Giants on Monday Night Football shouldn’t be possible for a man who has been out of the league for two years. Any hopes that retirement would dull Donald’s senses were dashed quickly, as he proceeded to dismantle interior protection, rush the quarterback, and stop plays before they could ever develop. The box score might not look too impressive with Donald registering one solo tackle and two assists, but devil is in the details. According to Sumer Sports, Donald played 32 snaps and registered a staggering 27.8% pass rush win rate. To put this in context, Will Anderson Jr. finished 2025 with a win rate of 26.2%, while Defensive Player of the Year (and Donald’s teammate) Myles Garrett had a win rate of 24.6%. In case that isn’t terrifying enough, it’s about to get scarier, because there is a demonstrable difference between win rates when it comes to edge rushers and interior linemen. On the whole it’s much easier to win from the outside, where even the absolute best pass rushers have to contend with an offensive tackle, then maybe a tight end on running back on a chip block. When a team decides to double a top-tier defensive tackle it means putting a guard and the center on them, which is obviously much more difficult to fight through. It’s for this reason that Chris Jones of the Chiefs led the NFL in pass rush win rate by a DT in 2025 at a flat 20%, while Jeffrey Simmons and Calais Campbell finished second with 15% each. So, for Donald to suit up after a two year break and put up a 27.8% win rate simply defies belief. He was on the couch for 2 years man. Still the fastest player off the ball — JP Acosta (@acosta32jp.bsky.social) 2026-09-22T14:54:56.651Z Donald is terrifying in isolation, but we haven’t even seen the full potential of the Rams’ defense yet. On Monday night we saw a lot of combined pass rushes with Donald penetrating the interior, while a Kam Curl came out of a safety blitz. Imagine for a second how this is going to look when Myles Garrett becomes the complementary pass rusher to his interior pressure? That’s the reason the hype was so profound around this Rams’ defense, and why it’s only going to get worse for opposing teams. There are certain things we’re conditioned to believe, and one of those is that nobody should be able to get off their couch and walk into the NFL. Aaron Donald did just that, immediately returning not just as a brilliant defensive tackle, but as one of the best in the entire NFL. The bust in Canton was delayed with his return, but it’s coming — and this year Aaron Donald is going to prove that even more.

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