Aaron Donald is a Pittsburgh legend. Born and raised in the city, the retired defensive tackle starred at the University of Pittsburgh, where he recently had his number retired. While he always repped his hometown, Donald played his entire Hall of Fame career with the Rams, starting with the team in St. Louis in 2014, and finishing with the franchise in Los Angeles in 2023.
It would’ve been a perfect Pittsburgh story if Donald had ever played for his hometown Pittsburgh Steelers, and turns out, it almost happened. The former defender recently appeared on Cam Heyward’s Not Just Football podcast, and he revealed that the Steelers were one of the teams he thought he could end up with on draft night.
However, if that actually happened, things would have looked different for Donald. Of course, it would’ve been different since he would’ve been with a different franchise, but he apparently would’ve been playing a different position as well. Donald explained that in his pre-draft meeting with Pittsburgh, the franchise discussed moving him to the edge to play as an outside linebacker.
"There's a chance I go to the Pittsburgh Steelers"
— Not Just Football (@NotJustFootball) May 13, 2026
There's a timeline where Aaron Donald became a Steelers Linebacker 🤯 pic.twitter.com/0cdDMFo1RB
The Pittsburgh Steelers planned to move Aaron Donald to outside linebacker if they drafted him
Donald said he was nervous leading up to the draft because he didn’t know where he would end up. That’s when he started to list all the possible options. When he got to Pittsburgh, he revealed the franchise had asked if he wanted to play linebacker. Like most prospects entering the league, Donald said he told the team he’d play whatever he’s asked to play.
He revealed that the Arizona Cardinals had a similar plan, and while he knew that he was a defensive tackle, Donald believes that he works so hard that he would’ve figured the new position out as well.
Ultimately, Donald never made it to Pittsburgh in the 2014 Draft for this to actually happen. He was selected by the Rams with the 13th-overall pick, and the Steelers drafted off-ball linebacker Ryan Shazier two picks later. In the end, it all worked out for Donald, as he became a Defensive Rookie of the Year, a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, a 10-time Pro Bowler, an eight-time All-Pro selection, a Super Bowl Champion, and arguably the best defender in NFL history.
Add us as a preferred source on Google