New Orleans Saints defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins isn’t providing Aaron Donald any bulletin board material before Sunday’s game with the Los Angeles Rams. Quite the opposite.
In fact, Rankin paid Donald the ultimate compliment.
Saints DT Sheldon Rankins on what stands out about Rams DT Aaron Donald: I don’t want to heap too much praise on him right before we play him. But he’s probably the best defensive tackle I’ve ever seen play.
— Mike Triplett (@MikeTriplett) October 31, 2018
Donald has certainly earned the praise.
He’s never recorded fewer than eight sacks in a season. That includes 2018. He’s already recorded 10 sacks in only eight games. More than just sacks, Donald consistently wrecks offensive game plans with the pressure he applies on quarterbacks and running backs.
This is all despite being the constant focal point of opposing offenses.
Donald is still relatively early in his career. So his career accomplishments may not quite stack up to the greats who came before him — at least not yet. But it’s hard to argue that anyone has ever played the position better than what we’ve seen from Donald in his first five years in the NFL.