Aaron Donald’s return is the worst news for this rookie
· Yahoo Sports
Aaron Donald is officially returning to the Los Angeles Rams.
Assuming he’s on the field for the season opener against the San Francisco 49ers, that is extremely bad news for a certain rookie. 2026 fourth-rounder Carver Willis just seized the starting job for the 49ers. His first game will be against one of the greatest defenders in the history of the NFL.
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Donald may not be 100% the same player after sitting out for two years. It may take him a few weeks in order to knock off the rust.
But the superstar pass rusher must be licking his chops to face off against Willis.
The rookie played 100 snaps for San Francisco in the preseason and allowed seven total pressures, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF). Willis finished with pass and run blocking grades of 50.9 and 53.7, respectively.
Of the 109 rookie offensive linemen to participate in the preseason, Willis ranked safely towards the bottom at 82nd. Only three rookies allowed more pressures in the exhibition game: Alan Herron (Saints; allowed nine against the Rams and Wesley Bailey alone), Ethan Onianwa (Falcons), and Enrique Cruz (49ers). Cruz was drafted by San Francisco one round after Willis. Onianwa was a seventh rounder. Herron went undrafted.
That’s not great company to be in.
Whether Donald will play against the 49ers Week 1 in Melbourne remains to be seen, as the team has not yet confirmed. We also don’t know if Donald will pick up where he left off.
But a favorable matchup against a rookie offensive lineman who proves porous in three exhibition games seems to suggest Donald can announce his return in a more impactful way—by again wrecking offensive game plans.