When the Rams drafted Aaron Donald in 2014, they were confident he’d be an impactful defender in the NFL. They didn’t know he’d be a generational talent and one of the best players in league history.
Donald wasn’t just a productive pass rusher during his 10 seasons with the Rams. He was a complete game-changer with his smaller stature, lightning-quick hands and superhuman strength.
There will never be another player like him and there’s no question he’ll be a first-ballot Hall of Famer in five years when he’s eligible. It’s why ESPN ranked him as one of the best professional athletes of this century.
ESPN took on the tall task of ranking the 100 best athletes of the 21st century and Donald came in at No. 20, the third-highest-ranked football player on the list behind only Tom Brady (5) and Patrick Mahomes (18).
His resume includes 10 Pro Bowl selections, eight All-Pro nods, three Defensive Player of the Year awards, Defensive Rookie of the Year honors, a Super Bowl ring and the 2018 sacks leader (20.5). He ranks 28th all-time with 111 career sacks in only 10 seasons.
Donald went into his eighth NFL season with many significant achievements on the field for the Rams: Defensive Rookie of the Year, three NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards and seven Pro Bowls to start his career. The one thing he was missing? A Super Bowl ring. He and the Rams won that during the 2021 season, beating the Cincinnati Bengals in a game that went down to the wire. On fourth down in a three-point game, Donald pressured Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and forced an incomplete pass to essentially end the game. Donald’s celebration will be remembered, too: He ran around with his arms outstretched and then pointed at his left ring finger, where his first Super Bowl ring would go.
Donald accomplished everything one player could hope to accomplish in the NFL, and he did it in only 10 seasons. Heck, he could’ve retired after the 2018 season when he won his second Defensive Player of the Year award and still have been a lock for the Hall of Fame.
He was ready to retire after the 2021 season when he and the Rams won a Super Bowl but he opted to return for two more years and added two more Pro Bowl selections to his resume.
The Rams are going to miss Donald now that he’s retired but the impact he made for a decade was historic.