Wade Phillips trolls ESPN’s analytics for terrible take on Aaron Donald

Wade Phillips is ready to take over as ESPN’s analytics writer.

By just about every statistic and measure, Aaron Donald is unequivocally one of the best defenders in the NFL. He’s certainly at the top of the class in pass-rushing ability, but he’s also great against the run, too.

After leading the league in tackles for loss in each of the last two years, abundantly clear. And it’s even more obvious when watching him blow up running plays on a weekly basis, even if he’s not the one making the tackle.

However, ESPN analytics writer Seth Walder isn’t of the camp that sees Donald as one of the better run defenders in football. Using the site’s new “run stop win rate” and “run block win rate” metrics, Walder claims Donald is just average against the run.

Walder’s hot take was not well received on Twitter, with even Wade Phillips chiming in on social media. The former Rams defensive coordinator, who coached Donald for three years and called him “a surefire Hall of Famer,” said ESPN needs a new analytics person.

And he knows just the person for the job: Wade Phillips.

At first, Phillips had a good laugh at Walder’s claim, simply replying with “LOL.” That would’ve been enough to get his thoughts across, but trolling ESPN made it that much better.

Pro Football Focus came to Donald’s defense quickly after Walder’s article was posted, sharing their own analytics to prove he’s excellent against the run.

It was shared just seven minutes after Walder tweeted a link to his article, which isn’t a coincidence.

The Rams got in on the fun, too. While they didn’t directly mention ESPN’s article, the point was made.

Well played, Rams.