Rams’ Aaron Donald stands between Bengals, Super Bowl title

Brad Holmes, the general manager of the Detroit Lions, was the college scouting director for the St. Louis Rams nine years ago when he made a trip to the University of Pittsburgh.

He was there to get an up-close look at an undersized Panthers defensive tackle who was making a mockery of opponents across the ACC.

Before Holmes even had a chance to watch Aaron Donald in action, he got hit full force by a side of the gritty Pitt standout that this week has Donald positioned right in the way of the Cincinnati Bengals and their magical run to a Super Bowl championship.

As Holmes tells the story, his former Rams colleague and then Pitt defensive coordinator Matt House tipped him off to arrive for the 3:30 p.m. practice a good 45 minutes early. House gave no other explanation, leaving Holmes to wonder all day what was up.

Upon arriving on the nearly empty Pitt practice field later that afternoon, it didn’t take long for Holmes to figure it out.

On the Panthers sideline stood Donald, fully dressed out and champing at the bit to get to work. A stunned Holmes could only shake his head.

“He had this body language that was screaming, ‘I’ve been waiting on this all day. I’ve been looking forward to this all day,’” Holmes said. “And I mean, it’s a Tuesday practice.”

A short while later, Holmes met up with House.

“Did you see it?” House asked.

Holmes nodded his head yes.

A few months later, the Rams made Donald the 13th overall pick in the first round. In the eight seasons since, he has dominated the NFL in a way very few players ever have.

“Aaron just had an elite work ethic and passion for football that was so obvious,” Holmes said.

The scary part is Donald shows no letup. His offseason workouts, some of which can be found on YouTube and other social media, continue to evolve and inspire every year.

Donald is smallish for an NFL defensive tackle at 6-foot-1 and 285 pounds.

So he continually has to work on his body and fundamentals to deal with behemoth offensive linemen, often two and three at a time depending on the blocking package he’s facing.

The layers of power, quickness and leverage Donald continues to add make him as unstoppable a force as there is in the NFL.

According to The Analyst, Donald’s stunt-adjusted pass rush win rate was the best of any player with at least 100 one-on-one matchups. Among defensive tackles, Donald’s pass rush win rate was also the best.

And now he faces a Bengals team possessing one glaring weakness. The Cincinnati offensive line surrendered 51 sacks during the regular season and 12 more in the postseason, including nine in the divisional round against Tennessee.

It’s not just Donald they have to deal with, either. Donald is flanked by future Hall of Famer Von Miller and dynamic edge rusher Leonard Floyd, who has registered 20 sacks in his two seasons alongside Donald, including 9.5 this year.

The result is a relentless three-headed pass rush that makes it difficult for team to decide where to devote extra blockers. More attention to one means less to the other. And that opens the door for one of them to wreck a play.

The Bengals have their hands full as a result. But it all starts with Donald, who finished the 2021 season as Pro Football Focus’ highest-graded defensive player.

It was the sixth straight season he has earned the PFF’s top defensive grade. He finished with 12.5 sacks, 19 tackles for loss and four forced fumbles while playing in all 17 games.

Two weeks ago against the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game, Donald was the Rams’ physical and spiritual leader as they put the late-game clamps on the 49ers.

His emotional sideline pep talk with his Rams defensive teammates went viral almost immediately after playing out on national TV. He backed it all up by applying max pressure on 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo on a third-and-13 with just over a minute to play, then harassed Garoppolo into throwing the interception that sent the Rams to their second Super Bowl in four years.

And for Donald, another opportunity to build on his legacy by adding a Lombardi Trophy to the remarkable individual honors he’s earned.

“The ultimate goal is to be playing in this game. That’s what you work for,” Donald said of the Super Bowl. “This is what I’ve been itching to get back to and have an opportunity to win one. In eight years I feel like I’ve accomplished a lot, but the one thing I’m lacking is being a world champion.”

In other words, a highly motivated Donald is standing in the way of the Bengals. That is a scary proposition.

“It’s everything everybody speaks about,” said Bengals right tackle Isaiah Prince. “He plays with that aggression, the passion, his talent, his technique, his hands, he stands out.”

In every single way a dominant defensive lineman is supposed to, and then some.

And as Holmes found out ahead of an otherwise humdrum early-week Pitt football practice, it’s all backed up by a relentless passion for football that borders on compulsive.

The Bengals have their hands full as a result.

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on Twitter.