Aaron Donald is a bully. He’s a bad man that does bad things to quarterbacks. Now, for the third time, he has won the NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award.
Donald terrorized opposing quarterbacks this season. He posted 13.5 sacks (tied for second-best in the league), four forced fumbles, and won Defensive Player of the Week in week five after notching four sacks against Washington.
Donald becomes just the third player to win the award three times. He joins Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor and J.J. Watt in that regard.
Donald said this to the Associated Press:
“…any time your name is mentioned with greats, you will be honored — especially there’s only a few that have accomplished that. To be the third to do it that is truly a blessing. It shows the body of work that I have; anytime your hard work is rewarded you are going to be happy about that. It is just a blessing.”
Donald is still in his prime too. One would imagine he has one or two more years of his best football ahead of him. Maybe he could win a fourth NFL Defensive Player of the Year.