The Baltimore Ravens will face the Los Angeles Rams this Sunday, and with the matchup looming, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh raved about Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald.
While speaking to the media on Wednesday, Harbaugh lauded Donald as an all-time great.
“You have to know where’s he’s at, at all times, and try to get as many people blocking him as you can for as long as you can — which is a tall order,” Harbaugh said, via Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk. “He’s probably the greatest to ever play at that position.”
While Donald has certainly slowed down a bit in his older age, he is still an impactful piece along the Rams’ defensive line and has logged 43 tackles and six sacks through 12 games this season.
Harbaugh also went on to praise Los Angeles’ defense in general.
“So, he’s definitely that, but it’s not just him, they have just quite a few really good players on defense,” Harbaugh continued. “They play really hard. They’re flying around [and have] a very disruptive front. So, we have our work cut out for us.”
The Rams aren’t exactly world beaters on defense, ranking 16th in the NFL in yards allowed, but the unit has been much better of late, as it has held its opponents to under 20 points in each of its last three games—all wins.
Donald, who played his collegiate football at the University of Pittsburgh, was originally selected by the Rams with the 13th overall pick of the 2014 NFL Draft.
He has made the Pro Bowl in each of his first nine NFL seasons and has also earned seven First-Team All-Pro selections to boot. His best campaign came in 2018, when he racked up a league-leading 20.5 sacks to go along with 59 tackles, four forced fumbles and a couple of fumble recoveries.
Aaron Donald and Los Angeles are 6-6 on the year and have worked themselves back into the NFC playoff conversation after looking dead in the water several weeks ago.
Meanwhile, Harbaugh’s Ravens are 9-3 and sit two games in front of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns for first place in the AFC North.
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