Many around the NFL would agree Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald is the best defensive player in football.
Donald's spectacular combination of speed and strength paired with excellent footwork and tremendous intangibles have helped him win a pair of Defensive Player of the Year awards. The Rams superstar is a nightmare for opposing quarterbacks, who might have even more reason to fear him after the story teammate Michael Brockers told on Chris Long's “Green Light” podcast.
Brockers recalled a time during training camp when Donald physically ripped a facemask from a helmet (via Cameron DaSilva of USA TODAY):
“We’re in training camp, AD’s hot. I don’t know, he’s mad all the time – on the field. Just always mad. I mean, he’s cool, but he has a switch that gets flipped super easy,” Brockers said. “So I’m guessing the young guy grabbed him or was holding him or something – like pushed him in the back or something. AD reached and grabbed the dude’s facemask and when he pulled back, I was like, ‘Damn, he ripped the dude’s head off.’ And then I realized it’s his facemask. Then he was trying hit the dude with the facemask and the dude looked so stupid. The helmet was still strapped, bro. He looked so stupid.”
Of course, it should not come as a surprise Donald pulls off these superhuman feats of strength in camp. His offseason workouts are legendary, and he repeatedly breaks through double teams to get to the quarterback.
Still, stories like these are what lend a certain mystique to Donald, who is already cementing himself among other defensive greats like Lawrence Taylor.
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