It’s hard to find anyone who believes Aaron Donald isn’t one of the very best players in the NFL right now. He’s been at the top of the league as an elite defender almost every year since he was drafted by the Rams in 2014, even breaking the single-season sack record for a defensive tackle in 2018 with 20.5.
But Warren Sapp has a gripe with Donald’s play this season. The Hall of Famer called out Donald for his run defense on BetUS Unfiltered, saying he doesn’t do enough to impact the game when teams run the ball.
“To be a ‘rushman,’ you must play the run,” Sapp said. “I have a personal message for Aaron Donald. Son, there’s no great one that allows someone to turn and hand the ball off and run for 4 or 5 yards. The San Francisco 49ers showed up with a gimped-up Garoppolo and they proceeded to hand it off left, right, to the receiver coming around.”
Donald may not be as good a run defender as he is a pass rusher, but it’s foolish to say he’s bad against the run. He constantly disrupts offenses and forces teams to run the ball away from him, often drawing double-teams.
But that’s also where Sapp has an issue with Donald’s game. He says Donald isn’t doubled nearly as much as everyone claims.
“Everybody wants to tell me he’s being double-teamed. So I said, let me go in the lab and see. I went and watched the New York Giants game, the San Francisco game and the Washington game. I watched the first 15 (plays). … The first 15 tell it in the National Football League. Son, you were doubled three times in all three of those games. That’s nine double-teams in 45 plays. I don’t know much about math, but that damn sure ain’t no 70 percent. Son, you must get your (expletive) in that backfield and disrupt the running game so you can rush that passer and the L.A. Rams will be right back where they need to be.”
Only watching 15 plays to determine how often Donald is double-teamed doesn’t seem like the best method, especially when all the numbers suggest he’s doubled more than just about any other player.
According to Seth Walder of ESPN, only Dontari Poe has been doubled more than Donald this season.
Double team rate (x) when pass rushing as a defensive tackle by pass rush win rate (y) as a defensive tackle.
Grady Jarrett has the highest win rate, Aaron Donald has been doubled more than any above average pass rusher. pic.twitter.com/QcVlzbQ8ZI
— Seth Walder (@SethWalder) October 16, 2020
Sapp went on to say that when Donald is out there, it causes his teammates to do the wrong things on the field, which is also a bizarre claim to make. The Rams are significantly better when Donald is on the field and opens things up for other players thanks to the double-teams he draws.
“That back end ain’t doing nothing for you if that front end’s not working, and I see you not doing the right things, and then your teammates start not doing the right things,” Sapp added. “So when you’re out, it gets worse with the false steps, and the bad steps and the bad reads. Son, that is not going to get it done. You’re supposed to be the best, well let me see it all the time.”
Donald doesn’t need any added motivation, but if he wants some this week against the Bears, he can easily draw off of Sapp’s hot take.