Will Aaron Donald reach the 100 sack club this year?

LA Rams: Will Aaron Donald reach the 100 sack club this year?

LA Rams All-Pro defensive lineman Aaron Donald gets plenty of QB sacks, but will he put enough this year to reach the prestigious 100 sack club?

ramblinfan.com

Will Aaron Donald reach the 100 sack club this year?​

35 NFL Players have recorded 100 or more quarterback sacks over the course of their NFL careers. It’s a very prestigious group, one that boasts some of the most accomplished players of NFL history. Of that 35, three have played for the Rams organization. Who do you ask? Well, they are: OLB Kevin Green (13 years), DE Leslie O’Neil (14 years), and DE Kevin Carter (14 years).

Of course, there is a reason for mentioning this now. You see, LA Rams All-Pro defensive lineman Aaron Donald is within reach of earning his spot in the 100 sack club in 2021. Last year, he recorded 13.5, which would bring him to the very doorstep of 100 quarterback sacks. But there is one advantage this year that he has never enjoyed before.

A 17th game.

While that may not seem like much, it could make a huge difference as to whether Donald gets his 100th quarterback sack this year.



View: https://twitter.com/brandonthornnfl/status/1412505406178529289?s=21

He will need to put up 14.5 sacks this season. Can he do that?

He has only done so once when he recorded a massive 20.5 quarterback sack total in 2018. In that year, he paired up with Ndamukong Suh and Michael Brockers to hit his career-best.

Since that outrageous season, Donald has been averaging about 10 sacks per season. But that appears to be trending upwards. He put up 12.5 sacks in 2019 and then added one more to post 13.5 quarterback sacks last year. Based on his latest workouts, he appears to be even more determined this year. Stronger, faster, and an extra game? Looks like he could pop the champagne after this season.

This will be Aaron Donald’s eighth season in the NFL. The current record holder is Bruce Smith, who played an incredibly long NFL career of 18 years. If Aaron Donald can lengthen his career to that extent, will he best Bruce Smith’s 200 sack total? Well, let’s ponder that one another day. One milestone at a time and Donald will be hard-pressed to get 14.5 sacks this year to earn the distinction.

But don’t make the mistake of underestimating him. He appears to be more determined than ever.

 

[Tano]

How many defensive tackles have reached 100?

 

[Allen2McVay]

How many defensive tackles have reached 100?

Bob Lilly, Merlin Olsen, Alan Page, Mean-Joe Greene and Randy White to name a few.

 

[Tano]

Bob Lilly, Merlin Olsen, Alan Page, Mean-Joe Greene and Randy White to name a few.

All Hall of Famers

 

[ArkyRamsFan]

Bob Lilly, Merlin Olsen, Alan Page, Mean-Joe Greene and Randy White to name a few.

Unfortunately both Lilly and our beloved Merlin Olsen played and were retired before the sack became an official NFL statistic.
So technically neither of these (and Deacon Jones also) are in the "official" 100 sack club.
However a quick Google search reveals that both Lilly and Olsen finished with 94.5 career sacks each.
Amazingly enough Merlin Olsen played for 15 years. Can y'all imagine if Aaron Donald can go that long also?
It boggles the mind to consider it but with the way that man works I can see him dominating for years to come.
Go Rams!!

~ArkyRamsFan~

 

[Allen2McVay]

All Hall of Famers

Too bad sacks were not tracked when most of them played.

 

[Allen2McVay]

Unfortunately both Lilly and our beloved Merlin Olsen played and were retired before the sack became an official NFL statistic.

So technically neither of these (and Deacon Jones also) are in the "official" 100 sack club.
However a quick Google search reveals that both Lilly and Olsen finished with 94.5 career sacks each. Amazingly enough Merlin Olsen played for 15 years.

Go Rams!!

~ArkyRamsFan~

Also applies to Page and Greene; plus half of White's career.

I realize there are sources, including team sites, that estimate career sacks for players but I doubt their accuracy.

There is not even complete game tape of every game. For example, when Joe Thomas became the Niners' GM in the late-70s, he had most of the Team's game tapes destroyed. Thomas said 'it was a new beginning!'. After two more losing seasons, Thomas was fired. John Brodie cursed Thomas' brief-49ers' tenure for decades.

It's tough to estimate sacks during that era. There were far fewer passes attempted but it was far more difficult to pass protect because of the limited pass-blocking-rules.

I was a Rams' fan for the final seven seasons of Merlin's career, and I don't for a moment believe he averaged a mere six-sacks per-season (94 divided by 15). By-the-way, 14-time Pro Bowler in that 15 years. He was amazing.

 

[bwdenverram]

I would think with this offense if we average close to 30 PPP it will mean more QB drop backs for the opposing team needing to keep up giving AD more opportunities.
We shall see but I think he'll do 15-16 this year

 

[Psycho_X]

I would think with this offense if we average close to 30 PPP it will mean more QB drop backs for the opposing team needing to keep up giving AD more opportunities.
We shall see but I think he'll do 15-16 this year

Was going to mention this as well, our offense hasn't been nearly as good as it was in 2018 when AD got his 20.5. If we can get back to that type of offensive play his sacks will only increase as teams get more desperate.

 

[MarkyMark]

14.5 sacks left to go?? This is his year to join the 100 club for sure!! Horns Up A.D.!!

 

[PARAM]

However a quick Google search reveals that both Lilly and Olsen finished with 94.5 career sacks each.

Isn't it possible the amount of running "in those days" didn't afford great D lineman the opportunity to get 100 sacks over a career?

In 1967 opponents passed 445 times vs the Rams. There's no record of how many times they were sacked but even if it were 42 (3 per game for 14 games), that would mean less than 500 dropbacks. In the 7 years Aaron Donald has played teams have averaged 603 dropbacks vs the Rams. Those old timers would get about 100 less opportunities a year than Donald. And NOBODY is going to convince me ANY of those guys were better at rushing the QB than A.D..

But to answer the question posed in this thread, if he averages what he has the last 2 years, no. Throw out his high (20.5) and low (8.0) and he averages 11.4. The most dropbacks in 1 season against the Rams during his tenure is 638 (2015, his 2nd season). If he sees opponents drop back close to 650 times now, then yes.

 

[Allen2McVay]

Isn't it possible the amount of running "in those days" didn't afford great D lineman the opportunity to get 100 sacks over a career?

There were far fewer passes attempted back then but it was also far more difficult to pass protect because of the pass-blocking-rules.

 

[Memento]

I'm not gonna doubt AD now. I say he gets it, especially with more help inside (Robinson, BB3, EB4, SJD, and Gaines, along with maybe a surprise player of the Big 4 in Hoecht, Williams, Banks, and Copeland), a much-improved edge rusher corps (Floyd, Lewis, Hollins, Garrett, maybe Okoronkwo), and a top-notch secondary (Ramsey, Williams, Long, Fuller, Rapp, Burgess, maybe even Rochell).

We have some of the most talent on this roster since 2018. He's got this.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

I’d still like to see them sign Justin Houston to add to the edge rotation and give teams more to worry about.
Plus they’d have two guys going for 100.