Where does Aaron Donald land in CBS Sports' top 25 all-time NFL player rankings?
With 10 Pro Bowls, three DPOY honors, and a Super Bowl-clinching performance, Donald's career ranks amongst the greatest ever.
Years from now, Los Angeles Rams fans will sit back in their rocking chairs, reminiscing and educating their grandkids on just how great Aaron Donald was during his time. On the flip side, the many quarterbacks he tormented during his time will never forget the feeling of having to lead an offense knowing that No. 99 was standing in their way.
CBS Sports' Bryan DeArdo ranked the 25 greatest players in NFL history, with the former Rams legend coming in at No. 15 on the list. He was the fifth-highest-ranked defensive player behind Lawrence Taylor, Reggie White, Dick Butkus, and Ray Lewis.
If someone was to make a case for Donald as the greatest defensive player in league history, they wouldn't get an argument here. A three-time Defensive Player of the Year, Donald was an All-Pro eight times in a nine-year stretch from 2015-23 and was named to the Pro Bowl in each of his 10 seasons with the Los Angeles Rams before hanging up his cleats last offseason. Donald's sheer will helped the Rams come back to defeat the Bengals in Super Bowl LVI.
Drafted by the Rams 13th overall in the 2014 NFL Draft, Donald instantly made his presence felt during his rookie season. The former Unanimous All-American from Pittsburgh recorded 48 tackles, 18 tackles for loss, nine sacks, and two forced fumbles in his first season and was named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. The Rams knew right then and there that this was no ordinary pick but instead a franchise cornerstone.
Fast forward 10 seasons, and Donald solidified himself as not only one of the greatest defenders but rather one of the greatest players to ever strap on a helmet. Over his illustrious 10-year NFL career, Donald recorded 543 tackles, 176 tackles for loss, 111 sacks, the most in team history, 258 pressures, and 24 forced fumbles.
His career accolades include being named NFL Defensive Player of the Year three times in his career (2017, 2018, and 2020). Was named a Pro Bowler in all 10 seasons, an eight-time first-team All-Pro, selected to the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team, and was named to the NFL's Top 100 list for nine consecutive seasons (2015-2023), including a No. 1 ranking in 2019.
The high point of the future Hall of Famer's career was helping lead the Rams to a Super Bowl title in 2021 over the Cincinnati Bengals 20-17 in a game that came down to the wire. Bengals QB Joe Burrow had an open Jamar Chase down the field on a 4th-and-1 pass play with 43 seconds left for what all likely could have been the game-winning touchdown, that is until Donald delivered the game-ending sack and securing the second world title in team history and the first in L.A.
Despite retiring in his prime following the 2023 season, No. 99 left a legacy on the field. It also put a smile on the faces of opposing offensive coordinators, linemen, and quarterbacks who no longer have to deal with the defensive stalwart.
Follow Rams Wire on X, Facebook and Threads for more coverage!
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
30 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Tyler Shough confident he can handle starting as a rookie: 'You're not going to faze me if we start off 0-2 or I f***ing suck'
Tyler Shough graduated high school in 2018, ranked as a top-10 prospect in the same class as Trevor Lawrence. Then he backed up Justin Herbert at Oregon before getting a crack at the starting gig in 2020. Come postseason, Oregon entertained a quarterback rotation that sidelined Shough for parts of the Pac-12 championship and a large chunk of the Fiesta Bowl. He transferred to Texas Tech, where he suffered serious injuries in three consecutive seasons, the last being a fractured fibula that required him to be carted off the field. Advertisement His next and final stop of his seven-year college marathon was Louisville. There, he finally played a complete, 12-game regular season and established himself as a rather unorthodox NFL prospect. Shough went through the good, the bad and the ugly in college, and not necessarily in that order. So, as he prepares to compete for the QB1 role in New Orleans, the 25-year-old second-round pick feels ready to handle the unforgiving pressures that come with being a rookie starting quarterback in the NFL. "I think for me and what I've been through: I've been carted off the field, I've been booed, I've been an MVP, I've been a starter, I've been a backup to Herbert — I'm like, throw some s*** at me, you're not going to faze me if we start off 0-2 or I f***ing suck," Shough calmly yet confidently said Wednesday on the "St. Brown Podcast." Advertisement Shough continued: "It's going to be fine. That's why I was excited about that opportunity, or any opportunity. "And I think, going into it, I've got to continue to get to know the guys. I'm still a rookie. I may be older, but I got to earn the respect of everybody and do my job." Shough has a clear path to starting for the rebuilding Saints, who are now coached by former Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. That path suddenly appeared when veteran Derek Carr surprisingly retired on May 10 due to a surgery-requiring shoulder injury. Carr, a four-time Pro Bowler, was approaching his third season with the Saints after nine seasons with the Raiders. Without his presence, New Orleans' quarterback room consists of an unproven foursome, headlined by a rookie in Shough, a second-year signal-caller in Spencer Rattler and a third-year signal-caller in Jake Haener. Advertisement Shough told Amon-Ra and Equanimeous St. Brown that learning from Carr "would have been great." But Shough, who will turn 26 in September, knows the kind of opportunity that's in front of him now. It's an opportunity that arrives after a journey that's been far from seamless. "You look back, and it's like, what are you willing to sacrifice to get to that position?" Shough said, via "The St. Brown Podcast." "If you would have told me as a 20-year-old, you're going to get drafted, but you are going to have to wait four or five years and you're going to break your bones three times and you're going to think about not playing football again and you're going to be depressed and you're gonna have all these emotions, but if you just stay at it, then I would have done it, and I did. At that time, you're thinking, 'Why is this happening? What is going on? There's a lot of unknowns.' But that's literally the NFL, that's the game of football." There are more unknowns on the way for Shough, especially if wins the starting job. He believes he's ready to handle it all.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
How much does Aaron Donald remember about his 2nd career game? Just about everything
Donald could even name the Rams' entire starting defense in that game When it comes to football, Sean McVay has the memory of an elephant. Aaron Donald might not be far behind his former head coach, though. At his football camp recently, Donald was put to the test with trivia questions about the Rams' win over the Buccaneers…in Week 2 of the 2014 season, Donald's rookie year. That was nearly 11 years ago, but Donald remembers just about everything from that game. Granted, it was a meaningful one for the future Hall of Famer because it was not only his first win in the NFL, but he also recorded his first of 111 career sacks. Donald finished with a perfect score in this trivia exercise, naming everything from the starting quarterbacks in that game to the final score – and, most impressively, the entire starting defense for St. Louis. That was a forgettable season for the Rams, who went 6-10 and had "a million different quarterbacks that year," as Donald aptly put it. It was memorable for Donald, however, considering he won Defensive Rookie of the Year and began his rapid ascent to becoming the best defensive tackle of his era. He's a football junkie like McVay so it's hardly surprising he remembers the first quarterback he ever sacked, but to recall the entire starting defense and final score is quite impressive.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Eagles' Nolan Smith Offers 2025 Prediction for Broncos' Bo Nix
Eagles' Nolan Smith Offers 2025 Prediction for Broncos' Bo Nix originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Heading into their second seasons in the NFL, the 2024 NFL Draft's crop of starting quarterbacks are looking to build further on their first-year foundations. Advertisement Two of these signal callers – the Washington Commanders' Jayden Daniels, the 2024 Offensive Rookie of the Year, and the New England Patriots' Drake Maye – already have Pro Bowl selections on their respective résumés. The Chicago Bears' Caleb Williams and the Atlanta Falcons' Michael Penix Jr. will spearhead up-and-coming squads, while the Minnesota Vikings' J.J. McCarthy will make his professional football debut after missing all of 2024 with a torn meniscus. And then, there's the Denver Broncos' Bo Nix, a player who, like Daniels, led his team to the postseason in his debut year at the helm. The Broncos made the playoffs for the first time since 2015 last year after a 10-7 record vaulted them into the AFC Wild Card round. All six quarterbacks could either experience the dreaded "sophomore slump" and take a step backwards, or a "sophomore jump," cementing their status as franchise quarterbacks in the years to come. On Tuesday's edition of "Good Morning Football," Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Nolan Smith offered his take on why Nix will land in the latter camp in 2025. Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) during the first quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs at Empower Field at Mile Chenoy-Imagn Images "He's a good quarterback, but also, I think he's just getting his feet wet in the league," Smith said. "You've seen him make some big down-the-field throws. We know he has a big arm. People underestimate his legs. He can scramble, he can run around, he can do a lot of different things. But, I say, when he throws the deep ball, he has the perfect accuracy, perfect throws. And he puts it right in the breadbasket, as we say in the South." Advertisement Smith playfully admitted that some SEC bias may have factored into his decision – Smith went to Georgia, while Nix went to Auburn. But he doubled down on his statement, predicting that more good will come for Nix this upcoming season. "I like him to make that next 'sophomore jump' just because I know he can do it, Smith said. "I know his feet and his arms are going to work together when his feet are settled in Denver." Nix started all 17 of the Broncos' regular-season games in 2025, completing 66.3% of his pass attempts (376-567) for 3,775 yards, 29 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. He also gained 430 rushing yards and found the end zone four more times on 92 carries. Related: Broncos' Fan Favorite Discusses Challenge of Surpassing Division Rival Chiefs This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 26, 2025, where it first appeared.
