Rams DT Aaron Donald named Defensive Player of the Year by Pro Football Focus

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How does a guy with just eight sacks win a Defensive Player of the Year award? By being an absolute beast to play against, according to Pro Football Football Focus.

The well-respected football website announced its annual NFL awards today with Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald taking the top honor on the defensive side of the ball.

https://twitter.com/PFF/status/824742235837177858

While the Rams return to LA was less than triumphant in 2016, PFF singled out Donald as an outlier on an otherwise poor defensive unit this season. From PFF's breakdown of Donald's 2016:






"Aaron Donald led all interior defenders with 82 total pressures this season, a mark that tied for third overall in the NFL. He may have recorded 'only' eight sacks, but nobody was better at generating consistent, impactful pressure than Donald, especially when you consider the position he was playing."


High praise, indeed. And it just goes to show, it's not all about flashy numbers all the time.

Donald also collected the website's award for Best Pass-Rusher, edging out the likes of Denver's Von Miller and Oakland's Khalil Mack. In 2015, PFF named Donald their best player in all of the NFL, an honor that went to a certain Mr. Brady this season.

With new head coach Sean McVay now in place and the addition of defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, it will be interesting to see how the Rams continue to add pieces to build around Donald and get the defensive stalwart a bit more help.