Aaron Donald has zero offensive stats in his career. And why would he? No player in the NFL terrorizes quarterbacks like Donald. Somehow, he’s even getting BETTER at that. The reigning — and likely back-to-back — Defensive Player of the Year set a Rams franchise record for a defensive tackle with 12.5 sacks so far this season. (Reminder: There are still six games left.)
LET AARON DONALD RUN THE BALL
C’mon, Rams. Do it do it do it.
Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images
The Rams also have the best running back in the NFL. Todd Gurley leads the league with 988 rushing yards and has scored a touchdown in 13 straight games. He is, as the kids would say back in 1994 when Gurley was born, da bomb.
So there’s no reason for the Rams to ever try putting the ball in Donald’s hands, right? Well, this might change your mind:
LOOK AT AARON DONALD RUNNING THE FOOTBALL
Quite frankly, it’s unfair that a 280-pound beast like Donald would be that smooth, that fast, that natural carrying the football — he even threw in a little juke for good measure.
But it shouldn’t be all that surprisingly considering how quickly he bull-rushes offensive linemen and descends upon quarterbacks, who get a split-second to watch their lives flash before their eyes:
Unfortunately, a mini-ruckus after the play stole the spotlight. Donald took exception with Justin Britt’s late hit (so much so that he confronted him AFTER the game too), and both players were flagged for 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalties.
Even worse, the play didn’t count. Russell Wilson managed to get the ball out before fumbling, so it was an incomplete pass (and maybe intentional grounding).
Still, I’m glad it happened just so we could get a glimpse of Donald’s secret talent.
I’m no Sean McVay. He’s a coaching savant, and I will almost always defer to him when it comes to play calls. And he really doesn’t need my help: the Rams are 9-1, including the 36-31 win over the Seahawks that happened in part because Donald is a generational player. On top of his 2.5 sacks Sunday, the Seahawks had a chance to win late in the game, but Donald went after Wilson on fourth-and-10 to seal it for the Rams:
But there’s no doubt in my mind that Donald carrying the ball would work. It’s not unprecedented for defensive linemen, either, from Refrigerator Perry in the 80s to most recently, Melvin Ingram in Week 5.
Three plays the Rams should use Donald as a ball carrier
Here are a few situations when the Rams should use Donald, y’know, just in case McVay is reading this and then committing my suggestions to memory:
1) Put him in at the goal line and run it up the gut. Andy Reid semi-regularly used Dontari Poe at the goal line — as a runner, receiver, and passer— when the 346-pounder was with the Chiefs.
2) The Rams are up comfortably, let’s say by three touchdowns. They’ve got a second-and-5 midfield. There are no real stakes. Just call in Donald and laugh at how big the entire opposing defense’s eyes would get at the idea of trying to tackle him.
3) Wildcat. Doesn’t matter what the score is, what down it is, where they are on the field. I just want to see it.
Please, give Donald the ball, even if it’s just once. Let him stoke fear in a defense for a change.
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