9781422274699

Donald has repaid their faith in his talent by earning a spot on the Pro Bowl team in each of the five NFL seasons he has played. He has been part of the resurgence of the Rams defense and has helped elevate the team, along with QB Jared Goff and RB Todd Gurley, to a status as one of the best squads in the NFL. Those teams that passed on Donald in the draft would likely give anything to have a player of his ability anchoring their defenses!

Donald is a tenacious defender. His 97 career tackles for loss (TFLs) rank him 38th all-time on the NFL career list, just two shy of Hall-of-Fame Baltimore Raven linebacker Ray Lewis. In 2018 Donald recorded 20.5 quarterback sacks, which is ranked seventh all-time andwas within two sacks of the league’s record of 22.5 sacks set by Hall-of-Famer Michael Strahan of the New York Giants in 2001. Donald has joined the ranks of some of the greatest defensive lineman in both NFL and Rams history. This is a list that includes Hall-of-Famers David “Deacon” Jones (the player for whom the term “quarterback sack” was invented), Merlin Olsen (a member of the Rams’ famous “Fearsome Foursome” defense), and Jack Youngblood, who was Deacon Jones’ replacement and also a member of the Fearsome Foursome defensive unit.

Along with that of teammate RB Todd Gurley, Donald’s dominance has been greatly responsible for recent Rams’ success.

The numbers that Donald has put up as a pass rusher and run stopper have himon pace to be regarded as one of the best, if not the best-ever NFL defensive tackles. The sight of him on the other side of the football has caused some offensive coordinators and quarterbacks to think hard about attempting to run the ball near him. At 6 feet, 1 inch (1.85 m) and 280 pounds (127 kg), Donald may have stopped growing physically, but his game continues to grow to new levels of greatness!

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Gridiron Greats: Pro Football’s Best Players

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