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The odds-on favorite to win the Super Bowl got even better on Sunday, with Aaron Donald rejoining the Los Angeles Rams as he ended his retirement after two years. But should we expect Donald to play at the level that won him three Defensive Player of the Year awards this season?
We asked several scouts around the NFL if they think Donald will have a tremendous impact on the Rams this season and what to expect from the 10-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle. The answers we got varied, with some expressing confidence that he’ll play at a high level again and others believing we should lower our expectations for Donald.
Here’s more about what we learned from our conversations with scouts and people around the league about Donald’s return this season.
Eric D. Williams: Yes, he’s 35 years old and hasn’t struck a man in anger with pads on in two seasons. Still, according to scouts I spoke to, they expect Aaron Donald to have the same type of impact the three-time Defensive Player of the Year had when he left the game after the 2023 season.
“If one man can do it – it’s AD,” one longtime scout told me. “He still trains like a player. He’s got a strong appetite for ball! He will be a rotational player, but the snaps will be significant!”
Another scout noted the amount of time Donald spent working out before returning to the field last week. Donald said he spent 14 weeks of intense workouts with personal trainers before determining he was in good enough shape to rejoin the Los Angeles Rams.
“I thought this would be the time he would return,” the scout told me. “It looks like they kept tabs on his conditioning too, with several workouts. I’d say he’s a sub-package, plug-and-play guy the first two weeks and then can be an every-down guy after that.
“There will probably be some rust, and the wear and tear may show some. But he’s still a difference maker and leader.”
However, not everyone I spoke with offered a glowing perspective on Donald’s return.
“My guess is he is a good player, but not great anymore,” a league source told me. “I think he plays around 35 to 40% of the defensive snaps for the Rams this year.
“To me, it’s more about his age than missing time. How many great 35-year-old defensive players are there in the NFL right now?”
Donald has played at least 67% of his team’s defensive snaps in each season of his NFL career, including 81% of the Rams’ defensive snaps in his last season, per Pro Football Reference. But some older defensive linemen turn into one-down players as they reach the later portions of their career. Von Miller, for instance, played just 37% of the Washington Commanders’ defensive snaps last season at age 36.
Ralph Vacchiano: The rich got a little richer when Aaron Donald returned to the Los Angeles Rams this week. But not everyone is convinced that the addition of the future Hall of Famer is the luxury that it seems.
“Look, he’s an all-time great player,” an NFL scout told me. “He’s probably still great. I wouldn’t bet against him. But he’s not immune to reality. He’s 35. He retired three years ago. It’s not easy to play at that age. It’s even harder being away for so long.”
“Wait and see,” another NFL scout told me via text. “The guy was a monster. Is he still? I need to see it first.”
Donald last played in 2023 when he had a respectable eight sacks in 16 games, and his last double-digit sack season was 2021 when he had 12.5. But it certainly seems like he has a chance to reach those numbers again playing on a defensive line with Myles Garrett, the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year who set an NFL record with 23 sacks last season.
“If he’s healthy, you can’t block them both. It’s a problem for everybody,” the first scout told me. “But it’s the health I’m worried about. He’ll say he’s in phenomenal shape. I’m sure he looks it. But working out for a few years is different than playing football for a few years. It just is.
“And he’s going to feel it.”
