Now that he’s retired, Aaron Donald is finally ready to give up his crown as the NFL’s defensive king. Donald, a three-time Defensive Player of the Year during his 10-year career with the Rams, has passed the baton to Steelers defensive standout T.J. Watt.
“If you wanna say that next guy, that defensive player, I would say right now it’s T.J. Watt,” Donald said on the “Green Light with Chris Long” podcast. “If you’re talking about that’s doing it year in, year out, consistently, that’s going to get you 15, 13, damn, 22 sacks. He’s the one that’s been doing it consistently.
“Interceptions every year. Touchdowns. His stats are ridiculous every single year. I feel like he’s that guy to me. I know you’ve got Micah Parsons coming up. Myles Garrett. You’ve got a bunch of good players. But from the time I first saw T.J. Watt to the last year, he’s consistently been dominating in this league. Just a lot of respect for him, and I think he’s that guy.”
Donald is right. While there are other elite defensive players, no one has put up numbers like Watt has since his rookie season back in 2017. Over that span, Watt has 96.5 sacks, seven interceptions, 27 forced fumbles, 10 fumble recoveries, 107 tackles for loss and 45 passes defended.
In 2023, Watt led the NFL in sacks for third time since 2020. He also had four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, 19 tackles for loss, an interception and his first defensive touchdown.
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Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/aaron-donald-passes-baton-to-steelers-t-j-watt-as-nfls-best-defensive-player/
Author : Bryan DeArdo
Publish date : 2024-04-05 18:11:54
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