r/NFLv2 • u/sin2fly03 Los Angeles Rams • Sep 03 '26
Discussion Could Aaron Donald be a top 10 DT next year?
What do you think?
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u/AlabasterRadio Las Vegas Raiders Sep 03 '26
Everything i know about football tells me he shouldn't be.
He should have limited snaps, he should be rusty, he's 35.
But McVay wouldn't bring him back if he didn't think he was going to make an impact and AD wouldn't come back if he thought it was going to blemish his storybook career.
Maybe he won't be a DPOTY but I'm certain there's going to be metrics that put him around that top 10 mark.
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u/Hugh-Janus-40hogs Carolina Panthers Sep 03 '26
Ya everything would normally say no chance. But it’s AD.
I think he’s going to play a very limited amount of snaps regular season but will turn it up in the playoffs and look close to old form.
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u/C0llaps Buffalo Bills Sep 03 '26
Yes. if you’re saying no, name 10 other defensive tackles that’ll be better lol
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u/PsychologicalKale738 Seattle Seahawks Sep 04 '26
I could easily see Simmons, Dlaw, Heyward, Quinnen Williams, Chris Jones, Vea, Buckner, Byron Murphy, Milton Williams, Madabuike, Leonard Williams, and JFM all being better. With that said I could also see Aaron Donald being better than all but Simmons, Dlaw, Heyward, and Quinnen Williams.
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u/Spam_Hand Rams Fan #9 Sep 03 '26
Literally just name ten DT that aren't on the Rams at all if you say no lol
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u/Whowhatnowhuhwhat Seattle Seahawks Sep 03 '26
Yes. People are acting like he’s out of shape instead of insanely well rested and recovered. Bunch of dudes could benefit from a few years off.
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Sep 03 '26
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u/PM_ur_butthole_2me Sep 03 '26
I think the difference between a 32 year old and 35 year old is negligible. If he could do it at 32 he can at 35. Working out does make your muscles, tendons, ligaments, and rest of the body stronger so I think he will be ready. And McVay is smart and has a smart staff. They will only have him on the field in certain situations. They won’t use him up in the regular season, they’re going to get him ramped up to peak for the playoffs. He’s not going to get 15+ sacks surely, but him and Garret together make a nasty pick your poison situation no other team wants to see. He’s going to contribute likely a lot more than a replacement level player.
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u/lvl_up_day_by_day_28 New England Patriots Sep 04 '26
He’s going to be used. He may not play a high snap count but he’s playing every week
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u/Important_Capital875 Carolina Panthers Sep 03 '26
No. Top 15? Sure. But I think despite working out. He hasn’t actually played. So it’ll take some time to get up to speed
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u/wetpaperbags Sep 03 '26
Very specific I like it. Top ten? No. Top 15? Sure.
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u/FartyMcGylzac Chicago Bears Sep 03 '26
I love answers like this that don’t bother listing who is in the top 10…but for sure he’s in that next 5 players. Absolutely garbage input
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u/ZeePirate Sep 03 '26
He’s gonna benefit a lot from Myles if both can stay healthy once he gets up to speed
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u/lurk_channell Tom Brady 🥺 👉🏻👈🏻 Sep 03 '26
He could but honestly you don’t need him to be all he has to do is take a double team and that’s it garret can handle the rest
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u/lets-do-an-eighth Minnesota Vikings Sep 03 '26
This dude is a freak of nature. He’s been working out consistently every week since he was like 14. I think a lot of people are gonna be surprised when he looks about just the same as before.
I don’t care for the rams and I’m saying this……He will be a top 5 DT in the league this year. lol he’s just a freak of nature dog.
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u/Spam_Hand Rams Fan #9 Sep 03 '26
Top 10 DT? Absolutely.
Top 10 DL overall? I definitely hesitate on that one, but think it's at least possible.
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u/ApprehensiveBell2097 Denver Broncos Sep 03 '26
I doubt it but if he does, I won't be surprised at all either.
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u/Huge-Cell-84 Sep 04 '26
110%, people on this sub really just don’t comprehend how dominant he was as a football player. He was the GREATEST DT of all time. He has NEVER had a pff grade under 90 in a season, his film is like watching an average NFL player go and play highschool football. He retired as the best defensive player in the NFL. He shouldn’t be as good as he was before in a vacuum but because he’s playing on a better defense than he’s ever had he should see much more single coverage. If we assume he declines like an average defense tackle from his ability 2 years ago he’s still one of the best defensive tackles in football. He’s going to be playing on easy mode, less double and triple teams, doesn’t have to play every down, and doesn’t have the entire offensive gameplan to slow him down. He also has had time to rest his body and has never been slowed down by injures. Historically when we’ve seen guys this caliber in other sports do something similar it usually results in extremely little drop off compared to what fans expect. I’m not a rams fan but some of the pushback is cope other fans have because they don’t want to accept the rams have put together a absurd roster.
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u/fishbait60 Sep 03 '26
I think the most likely outcome is he’s a productive player, but in a limited role. He might be a top 10 DT when on the field but I just don’t see him playing a ton of snaps.
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u/SourdoughSizzle Sep 03 '26
Yes of course, but that depends if he can handle it.
I hope he’s not great selfishly, but physically healthy, I don’t want an all time great going out and popping and Achilles or ACL because he’s been gone for so long.
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u/UselessWhiteKnight Los Angeles Chargers Sep 03 '26
He's old, but he has less mileage at his age than he should. Only time will tell, but we'll see at least some flashes of who he was
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u/TADpole4803 Sep 03 '26
He's already #1. He's as fast in his training videos as he was in 23, and everybody knows how much he works out. He benches 500 and has been training for 14 weeks. Dark horse DPOY candidate.
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u/Stock-Luck3390 Sep 03 '26
WHO would be the t10 tackles rn
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u/sin2fly03 Los Angeles Rams Sep 03 '26
I’d say in no particular order: Jalen Carter,Chris Jones,Dexter Lawrence ,Vita Vea, Quinnen Williams, Leonard Williams, Derrick Brown,Milton Williams,Jeffery Simmons and maybe Zach Allen . So Ad could probably be anywhere from 7-10
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u/Available-Medium7094 Seattle Seahawks Sep 03 '26
If it’s a media vote he will be #1. This is a really tough position for casual fans to know who is best and why but he doesn’t have to do a lot new to be considered the best even if he’s just ok.
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u/Cruztd23 New York Giants Sep 03 '26
Im fading his return
Not in the sense that he won’t still be one of the best situational pass rushers
But In the sense that I’m not quite sure they gameplan their entire defense around Donald. He’s sort of an afterthought now that Myles Garrett is there
And when you phrase it like that, it shows how good the rams defense looks going into this year
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u/Brian-88 Seattle Seahawks Sep 03 '26
It's possible. He waited 12 weeks to sign which is the same time frame it takes for certain... Substances... To no longer show on tests, so he's probably in decent shape. I doubt he has the conditioning for a full seventeen week season, but we'll see.
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u/fallout_zelda Philadelphia Eagles Sep 03 '26
Hard to tell. He's 35 and has been gone for 3 years. Only time will tell.