Aaron Donald was absolutely dominant in college as a defensive tackle, despite being undersized for the position. The Rams drafted him in 2014 and kept him on the interior, but at least two teams saw him playing a different spot in the NFL.
During an appearance on the “Not Just Football” podcast with Cameron Heyward, Donald revealed that the Pittsburgh Steelers asked him if he would play linebacker in the NFL. The Arizona Cardinals also saw him as a linebacker.
“There’s a chance I go to the Pittsburgh Steelers, but I was like, ‘Nah, they asked me, would I want to play linebacker?’ At the time, I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’ll play wherever y’all want me to play,’” he recalled.
Heyward’s reaction says it all.
“They wanted you to play linebacker?” Heyward asked, almost stunned.
“They wanted me to be a stand-up guy,” Donald said. “They wanted me to be – like, Arizona, the Steelers, had me on the board doing linebacker— just running through the stuff. They wanted me to kind of rush from a two-point stance. I never did it but hey, I work hard enough, I’ll get used to it.”
The Steelers have traditionally run a 3-4 defense, so in their scheme, they would’ve wanted Donald to play outside linebacker – a la Joey Porter, T.J. Watt and the other great edge rushers in Pittsburgh. When the Rams drafted Donald, they were running a 4-3 front, which fit him well.
But even after they shifted to a 3-4 scheme in 2017 under Wade Phillips, Donald thrived – still from his defensive tackle spot. In fact, he was as good as ever, winning Defensive Player of the Year in 2017, 2018 and 2020.
Knowing how hard he works and how talented he is, Donald would’ve made it work as a stand-up edge rusher with the Steelers, but there’s no question his best position was inside at defensive tackle.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Aaron Donald reveals 2 teams wanted him to change positions in NFL
Reporting by Cameron DaSilva, Rams Wire / Rams Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
