Aaron Donald of the Los Angeles Rams is a man of many things. He is a terror on the football field, arguably the best defensive player of this generation, and someone you don't want to get into a drunken argument with at a bar. One thing he is not is a cornerback for obvious reasons. But for Detroit Lions secondary coach Aubrey Pleasant, Donald is the GOAT cornerback, per Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press.
“I joke and tell people that the greatest corner I’ve ever played with is Aaron Donald,” Pleasant said of the Los Angeles Rams future Hall of Fame defensive tackle. “In order to be a successful football team, things have to marry and they have to collaborate. And I think the pass rush, as well as the ability to play sticky coverage no matter what your philosophy is, I think they go hand in hand and I think when those things work together, it makes it very difficult for opposing offense.”
There are levels to that quote by Pleasant. It's surely not meant to be taken straight up. As someone who's worked with the Rams' secondary unit before, Pleasant had a lot of experience about how Donald made the job for his cornerbacks and safeties so much easier.
Donald's ability to toss offensive linemen around and get to the opposing quarterback so quickly creates plenty of opportunities for the Rams' secondary to diagnose plays right away. With Donald anchoring Los Angeles' pass rush, the Rams were able to finish the regular season second in defensive sack percentage and 10th in interception rate.
Follow Us
Subscribe