Tom Compton vs. Aaron Donald: A 14-Round KO

Who won the fig

The 49ers have to face Aaron Donald, the best defensive player in the NFL, twice every season.

Would you like to see how the 49ers’ newest guard, Tom Compton, matches up with him?

Last week, I showed you a 15-round fight from 2019 between Donald and 49ers backup right guard Daniel Brunskill, who held his own and played quite well at times. But Brunskill still probably won’t start for the 49ers in 2020. He has to compete with Compton, who will earn $2.7 million if he makes the team. Brunskill will earn just $675,000.

The 49ers signed Compton to play, judging by his salary.

So let’s see how Compton performed against Donald the last time they faced each other -- 2018, when Compton was the Vikings’ left guard. Compton faced Donald’s pass rush one on one 14 times. Here are all 14 rounds of their fight. You can watch the plays in the video above.

Round 1. Second Quarter. 15:00. First and 10 at the Vikings 35-yard line.

Donald explodes past Compton’s outside shoulder, but Compton recovers and pushes Donald away from quarterback Kirk Cousins. Donald doesn’t quit. He tries a second move -- a spin -- but Compton blocks that, too, as Cousins completes a 27-yard pass to Adam Thielen.

Round 1 goes to Compton.

Round 2. Second Quarter. 8:13. First and 10 at the Rams 17-yard line.

Donald jumps past Compton’s inside shoulder, and Compton spins and falls to one knee. Fortunately for him, the center slides over and blocks Donald, and Cousins rolls away to his right and throws a 17-yard touchdown pass to Aldrick Robinson.

Still, Round 2 goes to Donald.

Round 3. Second Quarter. 0:49. First and 10 at the Rams 45-yard line.

Donald tries again to beat Compton to the outside, but runs into the left tackle and goes nowhere. Donald tries another ineffective spin move as Cousins completes a six-yard pass to tight end Kyle Rudolph.

Round 3 goes to Compton.

Round 4. Second Quarter. 0:43. Second and Four at the Rams 39-yard line.

Another jump to the outside followed by a spin to the inside from Donald, and Compton is all over it. He must have seen Donald use it on film and prepared to stop it.

Round 4 goes to Compton. Good start to the game for him. He clearly did his homework.

Round 5. Third Quarter. 10:54. First and 10 at the Vikings 36-yard line.

Compton lunges forward to engage Donald, and Donald tosses him to the side like a judo master -- uses Compton’s momentum against him. But Donald doesn’t sack Cousins, because he runs into his teammate, Ndamukong Suh, who jumped into Donald’s rush lane after the snap. Donald probably would have hit Cousins had Suh stayed in his own lane.

Round 5 goes to Donald.

Round 6: Third Quarter. 10:46. Second and 10 at the Vikings 36-yard line.

Donald bulrushes Compton into the backfield, tosses him to the side and chases Cousins out of the pocket, and Cousins scrambles for five yards.

Round 6 goes to Donald. The third quarter just started and Compton seems tired. Blocking Donald must be exhausting.

Round 7: Third Quarter. 10:00. Third and Five at the Vikings 41-yard line.

Donald again beats Compton to the inside, and again runs into a teammate -- blitzing linebacker Corey Littleton. They crash as Cousins completes a 13-yard pass to Stefon Diggs.

Still, Round 7 goes to Donald. Littleton blocked him more than Compton did.

Round 8: Third Quarter. 8:34. Third and 10 at the Rams 46-yard line.

Compton lets Donald beat him to the inside again, then turns and watches as Donald overpowers the center and forces Cousins to throw the ball out of bounds. Round 8 goes to Donald. Compton can’t stop the inside move even though he knows it’s coming.

Round 9: Third Quarter. 5:13. Second and 10 at the Vikings 25-yard line.

This time, Donald fakes the inside move with a left-foot jab step, and causes Compton to lunge that direction. Donald tries to throw him on his face, but Compton catches his balance and, from his knees, blocks Donald long enough for Cousins to throw the ball.

Round 9 goes to Compton. Wasn’t pretty, but he stuck with it.

Round 10: Third Quarter. 5:08. Third and 10 at the Vikings 25-yard line.

Donald rushes to the outside and Compton pushes him into the left tackle. Then Donald tries that weak spin move that hasn’t worked all game as Cousins completes a pass to Diggs for 24 yards.

Round 10 goes to Compton.

Round 11: Third Quarter. 1:09. First and 10 at the Vikings 25-yard line.

Donald rushes directly into Compton’s chest, and Compton catches him as Cousins completes a 14-yard pass to Diggs. Compton is a strong veteran -- probably stronger than Brunskill, because Brunskill is younger.

Round 11 goes to Compton.

Round 12: Fourth Quarter. 15:00. Second and Eight at the Vikings 41-yard line.

Donald uses a jab to the outside followed by a swim move to the inside, and Compton barely touches him. Reaches out with two arms and grabs air as Donald blows by and sacks Cousins almost instantly.

Round 12 goes to Donald. Call this a knockdown with a standing-eight count.

Round 13: Fourth Quarter. 14:19. Third and 18 at the Vikings 31-yard line.

Compton seems tired and defeated now. He lets Donald rush past his outside shoulder and tries to push him into the left tackle as a last resort. But the left tackle can’t block Donald either, and Donald chases Cousins out of the pocket and forces him to throw the ball away.

Round 13 goes to Donald.

Round 14: Fourth Quarter. 2:20. First and 10 at the Vikings 34-yard line.

The Vikings are down 38-31. They need to score a touchdown on this drive to stay in the game. And this is the fifth play of the drive. The Vikings just converted a fourth down -- they have momentum. But Compton kills it. On this play, Donald runs right around Compton’s outside shoulder -- Compton barely raises his arms to block him. And Donald jumps on Cousins’ back and flings him to the ground. And the Vikings lose.

Round 14 goes to Donald.

THE OUTCOME

Compton: Six rounds.

Donald: Eight rounds.

Compton performed admirably early in the first half against a far superior player, but wore down during the second half and basically lost the game for the Vikings -- Donald’s final sack sealed the deal.

In those 14 rounds against Donald, Compton gave up two sacks and three pressures. Not good. Call the fight a knockout victory for Donald.

Of course, we shouldn’t expect Compton to win this fight. But Brunskill performed much better against Donald than Compton did. Brunskill took 10 of 15 rounds from Donald. Keep that in mind if the 49ers make Compton the starting right guard next season.