Shawne Merriman says Rams' Aaron Donald-Myles Garrett combo is 'insane' for NFL offenses: 'Pick your poison'

Whenever a new season begins in any sport, its usually the team that won the previous years championship that has the biggest target on their backs.

For the 2026 NFL season, it doesnt seem to be the Seattle Seahawks, but rather the team they beat in the NFC Championship Game to reach the Super Bowl: the

Super teams are hard to come by when 53 men are stacked onto a roster, but the Rams have come pretty close entering the new campaign, with the reigning MVP leading the way on a high-powered offense, while LA revamped its defense with a pair of Defensive Players of the Year on the defense live.

And one of them came out of retirement just to take another crack at winning another Super Bowl ring.

Aaron Donald, the 10-time Pro Bowl and eight-time First team All-Pro defensive tackle, officially ended his days outside football by rejoining the team he helped to win a Super Bowl in 2021. He joins Myles Garrett, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year and new single-season sack record holder, whom the Rams acquired in a blockbuster trade with the Cleveland Browns this offseason.

If the Rams werent scary enough when Stafford & Co. have the ball in their hands, this combo strikes fear into the eyes of their opponents just by being on the schedule each week.

THE CRAIG CARTON SHOW–UNFILTERED, UNAPOLOGETIC AND UNMISSABLE. DOWNLOAD HIS DAILY PODCAST NOW!

The expectations and potential of what this combo could do to offenses in 2026 has got football players, coaches and fans in a collective whirlwind. And one former NFL star linebacker thinks the hype couldnt be more real.

"Just insane. I mean, its insane because every week will be a pick-your-poison situation," Shawne Merriman, All-Pro linebacker for the San Diego Chargers and Buffalo Bills, told OutKick in a recent interview. "Who do you want to focus on? Because the other one is going to make plays."

"Me being in my situation when I played, I knew I was going to get a lot of slide protection and chips off the edge and things like that. But you cant do it to both sides. They have enough playmakers that, if you leave those guys one-on-one, its going to be damaging."

To Merrimans point, offensive lines will have to choose who they wish to focus on when the ball is snapped. Its nearly impossible to be able to pick up Garrett and Donald with 1-on-1 matchups at the line without getting beat and potentially blowing up the play.

Theres a reason the term "game wrecker" is used for certain players, and its been used time and time again for both Donald and Garrett throughout their respective careers.

For Garrett especially, Merriman thinks joining the Rams will unlock an extra gear fans might not believe theyd ever see.

"I want to add that people dont understand, I give a lot of credit to our offense on my career because we were able to score so many points," he explained. "I mean, Phil [Rivers], L.T. [LaDainian Tomlinson], [Antonio] Gates, we knew we were putting up points every game. So, what happens is, you pin your ears back and go when the score gets 14-3, or 17-6. You can pin your ears back and go as a pass rusher.

"Well, Myles Garrett, he never had that situation in Cleveland. He never had it with these guys in a decisive win, or teams had to throw the ball a lot because obviously you dont want to throw the ball as much when Myles Garrett is sitting on the side. So, thats the scary part. Now, he can just go because those games can get out of hand."

As for Donald, Merriman was very confident in saying that he is "still a top three player at 80% of what he is," which is what many have been echoing. As a defensive tackle, Donald was able to do things nobody at the po