According to a former coach in Detroit, Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald could be wearing a Lions uniform on Sunday had fate not intervened.
Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald was a player former Detroit Lions defensive line coach Jim Washburn loved coming out of Pitt. In fact, he’s of the opinion that they could have at least made it to the NFC Championship game in 2014 with Donald, who was a rookie then, and their other DT Ndamukong Suh.
The Lions wound up a very respectable 11-5 that year, which ironically enough was the Rams record in 2017, and lost in the Wild Card game to the Dallas Cowboys.
It’s a storyline sure to get some attention when Los Angeles travels to Detroit to play the Lions in Week 13, with both Donald and Suh anchoring a defensive line not wearing blue and silver.
Now that’s irony.
Donald, who was the Defensive Player Of The Year last season, might have been the one that ‘got away’ for Detroit fans. In that 2014 NFL Draft, the Lions drafted tight end Eric Ebron from North Carolina instead.
According to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, Washburn made clear to everyone in the organization about his feelings on Donald, including Lions owner Martha Ford.
“I said this guy is a Jedi.”
He’d continue:
"“Everybody looked puzzled and Mrs. Ford was sitting there and she couldn’t figure out what the heck a Jedi was. And I said a Jedi, he’s like Yoda. It’s like a Jedi, they see things before they happen, and I said Aaron Donald sees things before they happen.”"
Washburn even compared him to John Randle.
While one person in the Lions organization believed Donald to be too small, Washburn stood by his assessment.
“He’s the premier player in football in my opinion,” Washburn said. “You make the exception for the exception and the guy . . . shot him down.”
Fans should see some of the interesting side-notes in the Rams game at Detroit on Sunday. Besides the idea that Donald could be wearing a Lions uniform, Los Angeles also could have hired former New England Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia as their head coach instead of Sean McVay.
Fortunately for fans in LA, fate had some different ideas.