No one knows Aaron Donald’s ability better than Aaron Donald himself. He holds himself to a very high standard, which is why it took him so long to fully commit to returning for the 2026 season. He wanted to make sure he could still play at a high level if he did come back, which he certainly showed in his debut against the New York Giants on Monday night.
Donald finished with only one pressure but he had the highest pass-rush win rate of any defensive tackle in the NFL and made a key tackle for a loss in the red zone.
On Thursday, Donald spoke with reporters and was asked to evaluate his first game back after having a few days to break down the film. He said he watched the tape “at least six times” and came away impressed by himself.
“I played
better than what I thought,” he said. “Breaking it down, I did a lot of things right, did some things I need to clean up. Obviously, hearing some calls with all the noise again. It was a little off. So little things I need to clean up but overall, l was impressed. After watching film at least six times, really breaking myself down, I was like, ‘Okay, not as bad as I thought.’ A lot of things to clean up, but we're on the right track.”
For Donald to be impressed, he had to have played fairly well. His expectations are high and he exceeded them after only one game.
As for why he watched the film six times, it was partly because his older brother was in town, so the two of them watched it four times together.
The takeaway? He did some things better on Monday than he did before he retired.
“I watched it two times by myself. One time my older brother was in town. He sat down and watched it with me and three more times the next day,” he said. “Just breaking myself down, watching myself, and studying my movements, what I could have done better, things I did right, how I could clean little things up, seeing where I'm at right now. Went back to past film, my first game back, how I looked, and I'm like, ‘…I looked better than what I did prior years.’ To be in my first game back, I think I'm on the right pace, pretty confident where I'm at right now.”
Donald and the Rams will now get ready for the Broncos on Sunday Night Football, which is another great test for both himself and the team as a whole.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: After watching film 6 times, Aaron Donald 'was impressed' by his debut
