LOS ANGELES -- Aaron Donald was uncommonly sentimental on the afternoon of Dec. 23. He had just broken the record for sacks by a defensive tackle, accumulating 19.5 with a game remaining, and so he found himself on the verge of tears as he rode the Los Angeles Rams' bus out of State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, that Sunday. There, Donald crafted long, heartfelt text messages for all of the people who helped mold him into what might now be the greatest, fiercest player in the NFL.
The first one went to his father, Archie Donald, and the first sentence was poignant.