Former Los Angeles Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald was an unstoppable force during his 10-year NFL career.
He made the Pro Bowl every season of his career, won NFL Defensive Player of the Year three times and was named to eight All-Pro first-teams. Donald finished his NFL journey with 111 sacks, with is tied for 40th in NFL history.
Donald did a lot during his time in the league, but Pro Football Focus identified one Donald stat that will likely never be broken: most consecutive seasons with a PFF grade of at least 90.0.
"Aaron Donald — in simple terms — was the most dominant NFL player of the past 20 years. The 13th pick in the 2014 NFL Draft was elite from the start, earning a 90.2 PFF overall grade in his rookie season with the Rams to rank second among 215 qualifying interior defenders.
"Donald was the No. 1-ranked interior defender in the NFL every year from 2015-2021, grading no lower than 92.9 in any of those seasons. He generated 100-plus pressures in four of those campaigns despite playing primarily inside as a defensive tackle.
"The future Hall of Famer retired at the end of 2023 after yet another elite season (90.8), making it 10 straight years (his whole career) that he finished with a 90.0-plus PFF overall grade. That type of elite consistency and ability to stay healthy over a decade is unheard of — and what makes Donald arguably the greatest defensive player in the history of the NFL."
It will be hard for any player to perform that consistently good over a decade-long career. Not only was Donald always among the best in the league, but he was almost always available, too. In 10 season, Donald missed just nine games, six of which game in 2023.
The Rams, meanwhile, have done their best to replace Donald in the aggregate. The quartet of Jared Verse, Byron Young, Braden Fiske and Kobie Turner can all do elements of what Donald did during his time with the Rams. L.A. also recently added nose tackle Poona Ford as an interior run-stopper who one ex-Rams star compared to what Donald did in the trenches.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: This insane Aaron Donald record may never be broken
