Rams Aaron Donald wins Defensive Player of the Year for third time

Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald was named the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year for the 2020 season on Saturday night. Donald also won the award in 2017 and 2018, making him the third player in NFL history to win the award three times, along with Lawrence Taylor and J.J. Watt.

This means that either Watt or Donald has won the award in six of the last nine years. But Donald has shown no signs of slowing down and has not yet turned 30.

Donald had 13.5 sacks, 45 tackles, 28 QB hits, 14 tackles for a loss, and four forced fumbles on the NFL’s top ranked defense in many categories. It was the second-most sacks for Donald in a season after his 20.5-sack season in 2018. Donald has been a first-team all-pro in each of the last six seasons.

Many have compared Donald to Reggie White, a two-time Defensive Player of the Year who also happened to make eight straight Pro Bowl rosters after turning 30.

Aaron Donald, the best of this century. Maybe more.