Will Aaron Donald Play At Hall Of Fame Level Again After Return? Scouts Differ

The odds-on favorite to win the Super Bowl got even better on Sunday, with Aaron Donald rejoining the Los Angeles Rams as he ended his retirement after two years.

But should we expect Donald to play at the level that won him three Defensive Player of the Year awards this season? We asked several scouts around the NFL if they think Donald will have a tremendous impact for the Rams this season and what we should expect from the 10-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle.

The answers we got varied, with some expressing confidence that he'll play at a high level again while others believe we should lower our expectations for Donald.

Here's more about what we learned from our conversations with scouts and people around the league about what to expect from Donald this season.

Eric D.

Williams: Yes, he’s 35 years old and hasn’t struck a man in anger with pads on in two seasons.

Still, according to scouts I spoke to, they expect Aaron Donald to have the same type of impact the three-time Defensive Player of the Year had when he left the game after the 2023 season.

"If one man can do it – it’s AD," one longtime scout told me.

"He still trains like a player.

He’s got a strong appetite for Ball! He will be a rotational player, but the snaps will be significant!" Another scout noted the amount of time Donald spent working out before returning to the field last week.

Donald said he spent 14 weeks of intense workouts with personal trainers before determining he was in good enough shape to rejoin the Los Angeles Rams.

"I thought this would be the time he would return," the scout told me.

"It looks like they kept tabs on his conditioning too, with several workouts.

I’d say he’s a sub-package, plug-and-play guy the first two weeks and then can be an every-down guy after that.