Today Aaron Donald delivered the stunning news that he is retiring from the NFL after ten seasons. It’s an announcement he has teased for a couple years now, but still comes as somewhat of a shock considering he is clearly still at the top of the NFL hierarchy at age 32.
How dominant has Aaron Donald been? And I don’t mean over his entire career. I mean lately.
While Pro Bowls and All Pros tell the story of how he is easily the best interior defender of his era — and possibly of all time — his pressure numbers top all players, including edge rushers whose job is literally in the title.
According to Next Gen Stats, since 2018, Donald has faced more double teams (117) than any other player in the league by a pretty considerable margin.
- Aaron Donald — 117
- Jonathan Allen 84
- Chris Jones 81
- Leonard Williams 71
- DeForest Buckner 70
And yet he still leads the NFL pressures. And one name in the top five may surprise you.
- Aaron Donald 472
- Myles Garrett 454
- TJ Watt 388
- Maxx Crosby 362
- Khalil Mack 362
Yeah, so hidden below Donald’s eye-popping dominance is the realization that Maxx Crosby has had the fourth most pressures in the NFL over the past six seasons. Tied with former Raiders edge rusher Khalil Mack.
Here’s the thing though — Crosby has only been in the NFL for five seasons.
This is compiled since 2018. Crosby came into the league in 2019. So, not only does everyone else on this list have their numbers compiled from one more season than Crosby, but he is the only one on the list whose numbers include his rookie season. All others have been in the league since at least 2017, so they were closer to their primes.
Just something worth noting.
Congrats to the most dominant defensive lineman — and possibly the great defender at any position — on an unreal ten-year career. A no-brainer first ballot Hall of Famer if there ever was one. And the kind of player who the Maxx Crosbys of the NFL can aspire to.