Aaron Donald shows flashes of old form in his return to NFL action

• Strong pass-rush win rate: Aaron Donald posted a 27.8% pass-rush win rate across 19 pass-rush snaps in his first NFL game since the 2023 season.

• Productive return: Donald earned a 70.3 PFF overall grade and a 73.9 pass-rush grade while recording three tackles and two defensive stops.

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Aaron Donald’s first NFL game in two seasons offered an early reminder that some of the traits that made him one of the most dominant defenders of his generation haven’t disappeared.

Donald made his return for the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night against the New York Giants, playing 33 defensive snaps in his first regular-season action since the end of the 2023 season.

The three-time Defensive Player of the Year finished the night with a 70.3 PFF overall grade and a 73.9 pass-rush grade. He recorded three tackles and two defensive stops without missing a tackle — an encouraging first step for a player who spent two full seasons away from football before announcing his return to Los Angeles ahead of the 2026 season.

Donald retired in March 2024 following a 10-year stretch in which he never earned a PFF overall grade below 90.0. His 90.2 mark as a rookie in 2014 actually stood as the lowest grade of his career, and he generated 840 pressures, including the postseason, from 2014 through 2023.

The raw pressure production wasn’t quite there against New York. Donald generated one hurry from 19 pass-rush snaps, giving him a 5.3% pressure rate. However, he recorded a 27.8% pass-rush win rate, and that figure climbed to 33.3% across his 13 true pass sets. He also earned a 74.8 pass-rush grade on those plays.

The Rams primarily kept Donald in familiar territory along the interior. Twenty-four of his 33 defensive snaps came aligned at either defensive left tackle or defensive right tackle, while his remaining nine snaps were spread across several alignments on the edge.

Donald also held his own against the run. He played 14 run-defense snaps and recorded two stops, producing a 14.3% run-stop rate. His three tackles came at an average depth of 0.0 yards, and he finished the game without a missed tackle.

There was always going to be some uncertainty surrounding what Donald would look like after two seasons away from NFL football. One game and 33 snaps won’t provide a definitive answer. But his first night back offered something more meaningful than the modest pressure total might suggest: Donald was already beating blockers at a high rate.

For a player working his way back into NFL game shape after two years away, that is a promising place to start.