Ex-Rams DL compares Poona Ford to Aaron Donald

[ASFN Admin]

Aaron Donald became one of the best defensive linemen of all-time during his 10 NFL seasons with the Los Angeles Rams. And while his exact skillset cannot be replicated, the Rams have made some concerted efforts to find feasible ways to replace Donald on their defensive line.

The additions of Jared Verse, Braden Fiske, Byron Young and Kobie Turner are great starts, but former Rams defensive lineman D'Marco Farr thinks the signing of Poona Ford is the closest the team has been to replacing what Donald can do in the trenches.

"Everything we used to give AD [Aaron Donald] credit for, like diagnosing blocks, understanding how they're tying to eliminate you – [Ford]'s got that too, but just at the nose tackle spot," Farr told the team website. "So when AD makes a smart play, AD makes a smart play. When Poona makes a smart play, somebody else makes the play, but that's how good he is, that's how much he's going to help you. A good nose tackle is invaluable in football, no matter what level."

It's certainly hard to compare the two players directly by just looking at their numbers.

Donald had 111 career sacks, including 20.5 in the 2018 season. He also won Defensive Player of the Year three times, made the Pro Bowl all 10 years of his career and was an eight-time first-team All-Pro selection.

Ford, meanwhile, has just 11.5 sacks in 101 games over seven seasons but 39 total quarterback hits and 229 combined tackles during that span. But, as Farr mentioned, they're two different players who are both great at the little things that make interior defensive linemen great.

"You don't have to be very tall to play nose tackle. You have to be very willing, and you have to be an absolute tree stump. And he is all of that," Farr said of Ford. "So he's a complete guy that, I guess you'd say he mastered the art of playing the run, but he's a credible guy you can actually leave out there for three downs if you wanted to."

The Ford deal has earned a lot of praise from pundits around the NFL world, including ex-Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce. The now-NFL analyst said he "hated" playing against Ford because of how he leveraged his body and his skillset to beat Kelce in the trenches.

The Rams lacked true run-stopping size in their defensive line after the Eagles ran all over them in the NFC Divisional Round. Now, they'll get a true run-stuffer in Ford as well as a big-bodied lineman who can give even the best centers problems. And if he's also a variant of Donald — that's great, too.

This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Ex-Rams DL compares Poona Ford to Aaron Donald

Continue reading...