Aaron Donald has made a living out of ruining the afternoon of many helpless offensive linemen throughout his legendary career. At age 31, he’s still going strong and remains the NFL’s unquestioned top defensive player. Better said, the centerpiece of the defending Super Bowl champ Rams is firmly in the conversation for one of the greatest of all time.
Donald got to this point not only because he’s so talented but because he practices every fine detail of the game. And often.
But as a recent viral clip on Twitter showed, people questioned Donald’s meticulous process when it looked like he was “choking” a teammate.
Aaron Donald’s new offseason workout 💀
pic.twitter.com/6aFbCjqNwX— PFF (@PFF) July 31, 2022
Oh, yeah. That doesn’t look like a good time or like it makes sense.
As the superstar defensive wrecker explained to the retired Brandon Marshall, the drill actually had a purpose. Who knew!
Never question a 3x DPOY’s technique 🤣 @AaronDonald97@brgridiron
(via @IAMATHLETEpod) pic.twitter.com/9F2k7uP98p
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 5, 2022
See, when the professional football player explains why something happens — in this case, practicing closing the A-gap — the entire picture clears up.
According to Tipico Sportsbook, Aaron Donald’s the Defensive Player of the Year favorite (+600) — which would be the fourth of his career. If he wins it again, it’d be the most DPOY awards ever, surpassing Lawrence Taylor and J.J. Watt. Not too bad! So, candidly, Donald can really do whatever he wants if he says it helps him on the field.
All that said, it’s hilarious that Donald didn’t want Marshall demonstrating the strange (but clearly quite effective) drill on him.
“Let me show you!” No thanks, all around!