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Aaron Donald might be the least scheme-dependent player in the NFL, possessing the ability to succeed in just about any role a coach puts him in. He showed that three years ago when the Rams transitioned from a 4-3 scheme to a 3-4 front under Wade Phillips, winning Defensive Player of the Year in 2017.
The Rams are once again changing schemes on defense with Brandon Staley replacing Phillips, but Donald’s role is expected to remain relatively the same in the 3-4 system. He’s raved about Staley and his scheme this offseason as they went through Zoom calls, but he admitted this week that there are things about it that he doesn’t love.
“It’s been good. I don’t want to say too much, or give too much away, but there’s things that you like. You know, there’s hiccups that we’ve just got to get better at, but that’s a part of camp and part of learning a new scheme and trying to adjust to certain things,” he said. “So, there’s things that I love about the defense, there’s things that, you know, I’m not too big of a fan of, but I’ve just got to adjust to it and try to play up to the best of my abilities so I can still put my little twist in there. So I can still help this defense be successful. So far so good, but like I always say, I think we’ve got a whole bunch of room for improvement. We’ve just got to keep learning, keep getting coached up, and keep getting better.”
As is the case with just about every new scheme implementation, even Donald has made some mistakes in practice. He knows he has to clean up those issues, but he’s not too worried about it because the Rams still have time before the season begins.
“You’re still going to make mistakes here and there, little hiccups, but that’s a part of camp with a new scheme, new playbook,” he said. “For the most part, everything’s good. I know I missed a call today at practice, but you’ve got to learning, keep playing, and don’t allow that to slow you down. So, I’ll get better, we’ll get better as a team. We’ve just got to keep practicing and keep working.”
Staley and Donald got to know each other over video conference calls this offseason, and it wasn’t until recently that they finally got on the field together. Staley has said on multiple occasions that he doesn’t want to lock Donald into one role and dictate exactly what he does on every play, giving him some freedom to work how he’d like.
“I think Aaron Donald will make all the schemes work well,” Staley said. “For us, I think what I’ve tried to do with all the players, but definitely him in particular, is being able to express himself within the defense. He’s got a style of play that he’s certainly created that is one of the best of all time. What we want to do, is we want for him to be himself. And at the same time, there’s some things in our defense, maybe something that we want him to do within our defense, but it’s us collaborating so that he can play fast and free like he’s capable of.”
Donald will succeed no matter what system he’s in, and he’ll be among the favorites to win Defensive Player of the Year at season’s end. Staley hails from Vic Fangio’s coaching tree, which has a history of deploying dominant pass rushers.
Donald should be the latest in that line of players, and there’s almost nothing to worry about with his fit in Staley’s scheme.