College: Pittsburgh
Height: 6’0
Weight: 285
Class: Senior
College Stats | Year | Tackles | For Loss | Sacks | FF |
| 2010 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 2011 | 47 | 16 | 11 | 1 |
| 2012 | 64 | 18.5 | 5.5 | 1 |
| 2013 | 4 | 26.5 | 10 | 4 |
Positives
Athleticism: Donald is a very good athlete for his size at 285 pounds. Come combine time, I would not be surprised to see Donald run a 4.8 forty time, and possibly clock into the high 4.7’s. I have also heard some people say that Donald has the athleticism of a linebacker, which may be a stretch depending on who he is being compared to. With his athleticism, Donald has the ability to run down quarterbacks and running backs reaching to the outsides. Donald is also very quick to come off the ball. Donald also has quickness to get around defenders and it helps him with getting separation between offensive linemen.
Ability To Get The Quarterback: For being a defensive tackle, Donald is in the top for sacks at his position who recorded a total of 11.0 sacks his senior year. His great ability to get to the quarterback is due to his lightning fast jump off of the snap, his quickness to get around lineman, and a nasty swim move. He also has the ability to get separation between linemen because of his smaller size and quickness and uses his hands very effectively against bigger lineman. From watching film towards the end of the season, Donald was starting to become double teamed a lot because of his early production.
Negatives
Size: Although Donald was very productive his senior year at Pittsburgh, it determines to be seen how effective he will be in the NFL. One knock on Donald is his size. With being only six foot and 285 pounds, Donald is smaller than most interior lineman which could get him in trouble at times. Donald has much shorter arms than most offensive lineman which can hurt his effectiveness of getting off blocks. His shorter arms also hurt him for reaching for recording tackles. Donald is also only 285 pounds which may hurt him in the NFL with getting pushed out of the trenches, although he has stood his own so far at the college level. His weight will also hurt him with getting leverage for stopping the run in short goal line stances.
NFL Comparison
Ndamukong Suh, Detroit Lions
By no means am I saying that Aaron Donald has the prospect grade of Ndamukong Suh coming out of college. Although Donald and Suh do play very similar styles of football at the defensive tackle position.
Some people were also comparing Donald to Suh as the season progressed as they had very similar numbers. In 2009, Suh had a total of 12 sacks, 20.5 tackles for loss, and 52 tackles. In 2013, Donald had a total of 11 sacks, 28.5 tackles for loss, and 43 tackles.
Although their stats are fairly similar, Suh was a better athlete, had better size to play in the NFL, and played against a stronger schedule coming out of Nebraska.
Draft Outlook
The 2014 NFL Draft is not top heavy for defensive tackles as likes years past. With no number one clear cut defensive tackle, Donald could be taken fairly high but he will have to compete with the likes of RaShede Hageman, Louis Nix, and Timmy Jernigan. With the defensive line as an important front in the NFL, that for sure could help his case to be drafted higher. With producing impressive numbers in his senior year, I would not be surprised to Aaron Donald drafted in the mid first to early second to a needy defensive line team.
Best Fits
Aaron Donald has the potential to jump right into a defensive line and produce right away for many teams. In my opinion, the New York Giants would be a great fit for Donald. The Giants are 15th in yards allowed against the rush, which could improve. The Giants also are having trouble getting to the quarterback this year and Donald could change that. Linval Joseph is also set to be a free agent at the end of this year and Donald could replace him.