Klint Kubiak Is The Only Viking Who Can Slow Aaron Donald
K. Joudry
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The title says it all. If the Vikings have any hope of slowing down Aaron Donald – it’s no exaggeration to say he’s one of the all-time greatest players to ever get onto the football field – then Klint Kubiak will need to put together a masterful game plan.
The players recognize how formidable Donald is. Dalvin Cook believes Donald is the complete package: “The way he gets his hands in and out, the way he attacks defenders, the way his mind processes — before the ball is even snapped — how he is going to attack offenses, it’s crazy.” Kirk Cousins refers to him as “the total package.”
The coaches similarly recognize Donald’s greatness. Here is Andre Patterson: “He’s a great player. To me, he’s got a little bit of a combination of John Randle and La’Roi Glover.” Patterson goes on: “He’s a tremendous player, the best 3-technique in the league. He’s special.” Here is Mike Zimmer after referring to him as the best 3T of all time: “He’s got great determination, which I think is part of it. But also, he’s got excellent quickness and strength.”
The issue, of course, is that the traditional means of slowing a dominant defensive linemen aren’t always super helpful against Aaron Donald. Take a peak at him shutting down this screen:
And now take a peak at Donald sacking Russell Wilson, a QB who may be a touch more athletic than Minnesota’s QB1:
Klint Kubiak will need to pull out all of his clever tricks and gimmicks to make the offense work on Sunday. Obviously, one partial solution (there’s no such thing as a full solution with slowing Donald) rests in double-teaming him on every play. That’s certainly a wise approach, and yet the issue is that the Rams will also have Leonard Floyd and Von Miller out there.
Moreover, they have Jalen Ramsey along the outside. In other words, Justin Jefferson won’t be able to get open at will, so Cousins will often need to move away from his first read. This is where integrating Adam Thielen early and often will be crucial.
It’s also worth remembering that the Vikings have found success with Blake Brandel as the 6th offensive linemen. Having him along the edge to help out the tackles may then allow for the iOL to get more bodies onto Donald.
Of course, the issue with a 6th blocker is that you’re stealing from Peter to pay for Paul. One more blocker means one less pass catcher. Having dynamic route combinations where Jefferson and/or Thielen can get open quickly and consistently will be massively important. Some of Minnesota’s greatest plays have come from max protection as Cousins takes a shot down the field toward one of his two stud receivers.
Generally speaking, Kubiak likes to begin his game with plenty of plays to the edge. It’s his version of getting body shots in before throwing the upper cut punch. Force the defense to inch closer to the flats so the intermediate and deep areas will be open later on. He’ll undoubtedly try to do something similar, though he’ll need to have much more success. He may also need to lean on far more pre-snap motion, play action, and bootlegs.
Anything that causes Donald to process what he’s seeing is pure gold. The best way to slow an elite defender is to confuse an elite defender. It’s no small task to confuse Donald since he’s so intelligent, and yet that’s the task that is before Klint Kubiak.
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