Aaron Donald DT PITT next Geno Atkins ?

there was an article by Bucky Brooks on NFL.com that compared Donald to Atkins was wondering if he fits the John Schneider/Pete Carroll suprise first round pick. He has the unique athletic ability the seahawks target in their players to go with a high level of productivity at the College level. He could be a project for a year or two but after being blind sided by the Bruce Irvin pick a few yrs ago i would'nt be suprised or mad if this was the Seahawks suprise pick in the draft.

Aaron Donald, DL, Pittsburgh, 6-0, 285, 4.96/40, current #53-overall (mid rd-2), @ cbssports.com
Looks like (and the stats support) this guy lives in the opponents backfield.

TFL's to date so far this season = 22.5 (#1)
Sacks " " " " = 10.0 (tied for 4th)
Forced fumbles " " " " = 4 (tied for 2nd)

http://www.cfbstats.com/2013/national/index.html

They aren't similar physically

Atkins came in at 6'1" 293 lbs. 4.75/40 with very good strength (34 reps). That's probably close to Rashede Hageman's expected measurables except with better speed.

Thats going to be better than ASJ by about a tenth of a second carrying 20 extra pounds.

Donald is not a guy with a frame that will allow for more weight. He's pretty maxed out as it is. He could add a little buddy up front for extra bilge. But he's not near the athletic talent Atkins was.

Donald is a different kind of player. Doesn't have great length. Is active and very difficult to block. But he's not an everydown 3 tech in the same vein as Atkins. Situational guy all the way. Donald has much better polish than Atkins did coming out. Atkins really more resembles Dominique Easley as a prospect. Quick, but poor technique and had severe difficulty getting off blocks if the lineman engaged him adequately. Both were kind of gap guessers who would just shoulder their way through a gap and if they guessed right, could get penetration. If not, they were erased easily by substandard linemen even in 1 on 1 situations.

Atkins was stronger and obviously cleaned up his game immensely and developed far in excess of what is normally expected. Atkins had the raw ability that Donald doesn't possess.

Donald was a guy I liked last year and going into this season. At the beginning of the season he was a player that I had mentioned on here as a player that could fill the Jason Jones role (which could now be considered the Michael Bennett role). I wouldn't compare him to Atkins, there is just too many different qualities between them. That being said, Donald is a unique talent that I'm confident Coach Carroll could put him in position to get the most out of his talent. Donald has freakishly long arms for his size, which is a plus.


Atkins has muscles on top of muscles, freakish build.


Donald isn't all muscled out like Atkins, but again he has those "go go gadget" arms.


Wingspan = reach out and sack someone.

Bucky Brooks from NFL.com compared Donald to Atkins. I just think he would make an intresting player for the Seahawks to snag a little earlier than everyone predicts. he's 6'0 which i think is a good thing becuase he will more often than not be the low man against all O-lineman and I bet he has the wingspan of a 6'5 so he's unique and productive sounds like a seahawk to me.

Nobody resembles Geno Atkins. I liked him "okay" coming out of Georgia, but then he blew up the Senior Bowl and i was salivating hoping we would draft him. But the first round went by, then the second, the third, was holding out hope in the fourth and Cincy snagged him. I was livid and still can't be lasted that long. His talent was exceedingly obvious, even to an amateur like me. Pick #120, it still leaves me dumbfounded.

DT-Aaron Donald, this season= 26.5 (2.21/game) TFL leads FBS (to go along with his 10 sacks and 4 fumbles forced).
http://www.cfbstats.com/2013/leader/nat ... ort01.html

There have been several evaluations I've seen recently of Donald that describes his "get off" at the snap as being "shot out of a cannon". That may explain the TFL's he's had. I'll be very interested in Donald's combine #'s, even if he's a little short at 6-0, (we've seen how being short isn't always as important as some people think).

CamanoIslandJQ":ri8laz0g said:

DT-Aaron Donald, this season= 26.5 (2.21/game) TFL leads FBS (to go along with his 10 sacks and 4 fumbles forced).
http://www.cfbstats.com/2013/leader/nat ... ort01.html

There have been several evaluations I've seen recently of Donald that describes his "get off" at the snap as being "shot out of a cannon". That may explain the TFL's he's had. I'll be very interested in Donald's combine #'s, even if he's a little short at 6-0, (we've seen how being short isn't always as important as some people think).

Click to expand...

I would agree with that. Although I think his combine numbers will be very pedestrian. Donald is very gifted in terms of his ability to hand fight and get leverage wins quickly. He is a good/instinctual player but don't expect him to get to 300 lbs. or be able to be a 3 down player. He is short, but not exceptionally thick. Really he looks like he'll play close to Will Sutton's size of 2012 (~275-280).

Donald is an excellent technician who really looks like a guy who will develop his skills well at the next level. But physically, he is pretty much what you can expect him to be going forward. He is quick and can put interior linemen in immediate distress. He plays stronger than his size. He is susceptible to drive blocking/double teams. He should be a productive pro. He does have the ability to win 1 on 1 matchups consistently at the FBS level.