Aaron Donald Came Away Impressed After Watching Film From His Season Debut

Los Angeles Rams star Aaron Donald was officially back in action in the team’s Week 2 win over the New York Giants after coming out of retirement earlier this offseason.

While the stats may not jump off the page as Donald finished with three total tackles and one tackle for loss, he showed that he can still be a force and was actually impressed when he watched the film of himself.

“I played better than what I thought,” Donald told reporters on Thursday. “Breaking it down, I did a lot of things right, did some things I need to clean up. Obviously, hearing some calls with all the noise again. It was a little off. So little things I need to clean up but overall, l was impressed. After watching film at least six times, really breaking myself down, I was like, ‘Okay, not as bad as I thought.’ A lot of things to clean up, but we’re on the right track.”

Donald elaborated on why he watched the film so many times and what he saw.

“I watched it two times by myself. One time my older brother was in town. He sat down and watched it with me and three more times the next day. Just breaking myself down, watching myself, and studying my movements, what I could have done better, things I did right, how I could clean little things up, seeing where I’m at right now. Went back to past film, my first game back, how I looked, and I’m like, ‘…I looked better than what I did prior years.’ To be in my first game back, I think I’m on the right pace, pretty confident where I’m at right now.”

Considering he missed more than two years of action, Donald’s performance in his first game back was definitely encouraging and he should only continue to improve with each game he plays. That’s not to mention that Myles Garrett will eventually return to the lineup, which should give Donald more one-on-one opportunities.

Aaron Donald ‘felt good’ physically in return

The most important thing was how Donald came out of his season debut physically, and he said he was feeling good.

“I did a bit more jumping than I usually do,” Donald said. “So it kind of amped me up a little bit, man. It felt good. Felt good to be back coming out, being embraced how I was. So it was definitely special.”