Since the start of the 2017 season, Aaron Donald has been double-teamed 1,797 times. That’s 152 more than any other player in the NFL, which just goes to show how much attention the three-time Defensive Player of the Year gets from offensive linemen on a weekly basis.
Donald goes into every game expecting to be doubled often and it’s always the case. That’s exactly why the Rams have shifted their practice strategy with Donald this summer.
Donald said last week that the coaching staff is making practice more “realistic” for him this year, simply by sliding the O-line protection his way on every single snap. It’s what happens in games, so why not simulate it in practice?
“I’ve been like that because they’ve been sliding the protection this camp,” Donald said of whether he’s practiced with some added juice this year. “Sean (McVay) gave me a lot of double- and triple-teams. It’s realistic right now so me just trying to find ways to defeat that and obviously working with other guys with different games and things like that to trying to play off it. So right now, it is about two, three guys on me, so it’s what I expect on the season so I’m getting it now. So just getting the work that I need and trying to find ways to get everything going. Everybody clicking on the same page and trying to find ways to be successful.”
When coaches first told Donald they were going to slide to him every play, he was a little frustrated, but he appreciates McVay trying to make his job harder in practice.
“The coaches told me they were going to slide every single play so I was kind of mad because you want to be able to work different things,” Donald said. “But it’s realistic so I appreciate him doing that for me, allowing me to make my job hard at practice and making me study a little longer at night. Trying to find things that I need to do better and what I could do to try to defeat a hard slide protection and things like that. So it isn’t going to do nothing but make me better.”
Donald was asked if he ever remembers getting doubled this much in practice, but he can’t think of a time because usually, he gets one-on-one opportunities against the Rams’ linemen. Which, as we know, often ends with Donald getting into the backfield and blowing up plays before they can even start.
“Not this much. It’s just typically one-on-one,” he said. “They stay true to the slide but it’s a different type of year. So I appreciate the work and at the end of the day it isn’t going to do nothing but make me better.”
Donald is coming into this year with some added motivation after having a season that wasn’t up to his standards. He missed time with an injury for the first time in his career, playing 11 games and finishing the season with five sacks – a career-low for the future Hall of Famer.
He even feels like a “little fire” was lit into him, which could be bad news for the rest of the league.
“I’ve got a lot to prove,” he said. “I didn’t have the season I wanted, obviously coming off of an injury and things like that. I feel like to get to where you need to be, it’s like starting over from scratch again. It’s a brand new year. Last year was last year, but there’s a little fire lit into me.”
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