Raiders' Opponents Ranked: DTs, No.1

In trying to make back-to-back trips to the playoffs for the first time since 2000-02, the Las Vegas Raiders will navigate the NFL's fourth-hardest rated schedule, according to Pro Football Focus.

That will include several teams with defensive tackles capable of wreaking havoc in the interior of the line of scrimmage.

Let's be honest, there wasn't any doubt on who was going to be No. 1 on this list.

Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald isn't only the best defensive tackle or defensive lineman in the NFL, he's the best defensive player in the NFL, period. Heck, it's probably fair to argue if he's the best overall player in the NFL today.

That's how dominant his career has been up to this point, making the Pro Bowl in every season he's played and being selected to seven First-Team All-Pro teams.

Donald leads the NFL in sacks since he entered the league in 2014 with 98, with six double-digit sack seasons on his resume.

That includes a career-high 20.5 sacks in 2018, helping lead the Rams to their first Super Bowl appearance since 2001.

It was also one of the three seasons Donald in which won Defensive Player of the Year awards, joining a short list of men who have won the award that many times.

That would be J.J. Watt, the best defensive player in the NFL in the short era before Donald entered the league, and Lawrence Taylor, who's long been considered arguably the best defensive player in NFL history.

That's what makes Donald so special, that you can't compare him to his current contemporaries, you can only compare him to the best players in league history.

Even now as he begins to enter his 30s, there's no reason to think there's any decline in store for Donald anytime soon.

Donald might begin to entertain retiring more often, as it seemed he did earlier this off-season before agreeing to a contract extension.

Regardless, Donald is the best defensive player that the Raiders, or any team for that matter, will face this season.

Even if the Raiders had a great offensive line, they could likely only do so much in the effort to keep Donald from dominating every snap.

They don't mean that quarterback Derek Carr should practice a quick release ahead of when the Raiders travel to Los Angeles to play the Rams in December.

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