Remembering Nolan Nawrocki’s infamous Aaron Donald draft profile: ‘Average backup or special teamer’

Nolan Nawrocki isn’t a name you hear too often these days but there was a time when he would magically appear every draft season to provide NFL fans with a comically bad player profile that would go viral.

Rising to notoriety as a writer for Pro Football Weekly, Nawrocki initially went viral for his scathing profile on quarterback JaMarcus Russell. He followed that up with a similar takedown of quarterback Cam Newton that felt like a personal attack to some. After that, he called quarterback Geno Smith uncoachable and “not a student of the game.” His profiles tended to be a mixture of on-field ability and off-field hearsay, often combining the two.

“Does not spin a tight spiral. Very disingenuous—has a fake smile, comes off as very scripted, and has a selfish, me-first makeup,” Nawrocki wrote of Newton.

While he didn’t always get it wrong, his player profiles felt like ways for him and others to take personal shots under the guise of evaluation.

“Carries a sense of entitlement and prima-donna arrogance seeking out the bright lights of Hollywood. Is known to party too much and is drawn to all the trappings of the game,” he wrote of Johnny Manziel in 2014.

His evaluations might have mostly made waves for dunking but he eventually moved over to NFL.com and was even hired by the Raiders in their scouting department, though that run ended after three years and some not-so-great drafts.

The guy who gave Aaron Donald a day three grade has been a scout for the Raiders lol pic.twitter.com/cYzqHe8deM

— Theo Ash (@TheoAshNFL) March 15, 2024

All of which is to say that it’s been a while since we’ve had some fun dunking on one of Nawrocki’s draft profiles and Aaron Donald’s retirement gives us a prime opportunity to do so. His prospectus on a guy who would become one of the greatest defensive players in the history of the NFL leaves a lot to be desired.

Nawrocki awarded Donald a 5.90 grade, which is described as an “Average Backup or Special Teamer.” While he noted that the Los Angeles Rams star was “quick off the snap” and “tough and competitive,” he had some concerns that he would be “overpowered in the run game and ground up by double teams,” “gets snared and controlled by bigger, longer blockers,” is “not a two-gap player,” and “lacks ideal length and bend to play outside.”

In 10 NFL seasons, Donald was named Defensive Player of the Year three times, was a Pro Bowl selection every year he played, and was named first-team All-Pro eight times. He also led the Rams to a win in Super Bowl LVI.