How Horrible Is Nick Wright’s Aaron Donald Take?

The worst version of Aaron Donald that we’ve ever seen was still the best interior pass rusher in the NFL, but sports commentator Nick Wright still thinks that was a sign of too much of a decline for the L.A. Rams’ great to return to the team this year.

Is Wright’s take on Aaron Donald the worst we’ve seen this year?

On First Things First, Wright responds to co-host Chris Broussard’s opinion that Donald will return by saying that AD was “not the player that he was and not the player that he wanted to be” in 2022 and 2023.

“I don’t think [Donald’s] coming back… I think if he did come back, he’d be good… But I think he already, his last two years, was not the player that he was & the player that he wanted to be… If he comes back, it’s… a zero downside proposition.”

Wright calls Donald’s last year one of the worst of his career. Which, to be clear, included a first-team All-Pro selection, eight sacks, and 23 QB hits.

Only two defensive tackles had more QB hits that year (Nnamdi Madubuike and Chris Jones).

Per PFF, Donald’s last two seasons saw him ranked third and second among all defensive tackle grades, following a streak of seven consecutive years at number one.

Wright frames Donald’s two years as if he was as different as Aaron Rodgers has been since tearing his Achilles, when in fact Donald was an elite defensive tackle when he retired. That’s why many were caught off-guard when Donald retired.

Now Wright is framing it as if Donald walked away because he was declining. Instead of what it actually was, which was a chance to retire without a decline.

Furthermore, Nick Wright practically makes something up during his argument. He says that “I looked at one of (Aaron Donald)’s comments about (returning) only if he’s at the level that he’s accustomed to”.

Donald never said that. It’s well known that Aaron Donald has not directly said anything to the media about coming back, with the exception of maybe a few text messages, which are also hearsay.

Wright is making it sound as though Aaron Donald released a statement saying, “I will return only if I’m the same as I’m accustomed to.”

At best, Wright is taking something that Sean McVay said and attributing it to Donald. Which a journalist should not do.

Second of all, what is Aaron Donald “accustomed to” anyway, Nick?

Because he retired as one of the top-three defensive tackles in the NFL. What is it about Donald’s last two years that suggests anything different? Maybe we should ask any offensive lineman who blocked Donald in 2023, “Hey was that easy?” and let’s see if anyone says that it was, that it was easy.

Probably not. Probably not easier either.

What Wright got Right

Look more people should be questioning whether or not Donald is even going to be a very good player if he returns. Donald is 35 and he hasn’t played since 2023 and he may have had an easier time getting ready for the season if he had made this decision in February.

On that point, I think Wright is choosing the more difficult side to defend and could be commended for not just repeating what everyone else is saying, which is that Donald will “surely” be great if he returns.

Maybe he won’t be great at all.

However, Wright’s points (which, if we’re being totally fair, were probably scripted based off of the show’s need to have a debate and not necessarily actual thoughts that he has) miss the mark. They’re not good debate points.

Donald’s last two seasons should have nothing to do with whether or not he can be great next season because he was still great when he retired. This is not the same as Philip Rivers returning in 2025, when Philip Rivers was already showing major signs of decline when he retired five years earlier.

Donald hasn’t show any decline. And by all accounts, Donald was probably even better in 2023 than he was at times during his first three seasons in the NFL.

So even if Wright’s right to question if Donald can still dominate as he used to in the NFL, Wright’s wrong to use mediocre talking points and quotes that never happened to try and make that argument.