This Tuesday, Cardinals‘ defensive end JJ Watt shocked the NFL world by announcing his retirement after the end of the season. He took to social media to share the news about his retirement. After the announcement, the NFL world paid tribute to the former Texans player, as one of the greatest defensive players to play in the NFL. Moreover, many people compared him with the Rams’ defensive tackle, Aaron Donald; some fans think he was a better defensive player than Donald in his prime.

Notably, 280 lbs Donald has been regarded as one of the best defensive players of this generation. He had a tremendous impact on the Rams since joining them back in 2014. Last season, he helped the Rams win the Super Bowl as well. Although Watt never won the Super Bowl, he certainly had a Hall of Fame career, as fans are engaging in a fiery debate regarding who’s the better defensive player between Donald and Watt in their prime.

NFL fans pick JJ Watt over Aaron Donald as the better defensive player

After Watt’s retirement announcement, many fans declared that Watt was a better defensive player than Donald. One Twitter user wrote:

Another fan expressed the same emotion.

One fan talked about Watt scoring more points than Donald in the NFL as well.

Another fan felt, Donald gets the nod due to recency bias; however, the user felt Watt was disruptive in his prime.

One more Twitter user took Watt’s side in the debate.

One fan made compared prime Watt with Donald and Lawrence Taylor. 

On the other hand, ESPN posted some statistics about Watt and compared him with the Rams’ defensive tackle.

One NFL analyst lauded both Donald and Watt as the 2 best defensive players of this generation.

Notably, both Donald and Watt won the Defensive Player of The Year three times in their career. Watt was the NFL’s sacks leader two times in his career; whereas Donald has that award only once in his career. Apart from that, both of these players won multiple accolades during their NFL careers. Unfortunately, Watt is leaving the NFL on a high note; however, Donald is continuing, as he is 2 years younger than Watt.

Cardinals HC Kliff Kingsbury had no idea about Watt’s retirement

Watt’s announcement came as a surprise for many fans and players. It seems like it surprised the current head coach of the Cardinals, Kliff Kingsbury, as well. In a recent interview, Kingsbury said, “We had no idea that, that was coming, but what a tremendous player, person, and all-time greatest.”

Read More: “The Greatest”: Charismatic JJ Watt Receives Engrossing Tribute From Better Half

Notably, Watt is currently playing his 12th season in the NFL, which will be his last. In 2011, the Texans picked him in round 1 of the NFL Draft. He played 10 seasons with the Texans before joining the Cardinals in 2021. As the Cardinals are already out of playoff contention, he only has 2 games left to say goodbye to his NFL career. On January 8th, he will play his last game against the 49ers.

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