Aaron Donald made it easy for PFF to choose Rams star as top player from 2018

Aaron Donald put together a career year in 2018 with the Los Angeles Rams by recording 20.5 sacks along with helping the team reach Super Bowl 53.

Dating back to the 2017 season, Aaron Donald did everything in his power to convince the Los Angeles Rams he was deserving of being the league’s top paid defensive player, which finally took place leading up to Week 1 this past season.

Even if Khalil Mack‘s deal would go on to top Donald’s the next day, just the fact that the Rams were willing to reward their beloved superstar a whopping six-year, $135 million extension shows how special the former Pittsburgh star truly is.

In fact, since joining the NFL in 2014, Donald wasted little time making a strong case to be viewed as one of the league’s best defensive players, and watching him recently take home Defensive Player of the Year honors for a second year in a row will back that case up.

After finally earning the hefty contract he fought so long for, some wondered whether the money would get to Donald’s head during the 2018 season, and watching him fail to record a single sack over his first three games certainly didn’t help.

With that being said, the fact that Donald eventually got on track before finishing the year with 20.5 sacks showed once again he was worth every single penny of that hefty contract signed back in the summer.

Every time Donald seems like he’s about to slow down, the Rams defensive tackle seems to find a way to elevate his game to a whole new level, and will hopefully continue to do so for years to come.

So when Donald was recently named the top player on PFF’s top 101 players from the 2018 season, football fans really weren’t all that surprised since his play on the field is unlike anyone else in the league right now.

Take a look at what PFF had to say about Donald, as it’s difficult to disagree with everything they had to say about the five-time Pro Bowler:

"In the 2018 NFL season there really is no question who the best player in the game was, and what is remarkable is that he took his game to another level from an already ridiculous starting point. Aaron Donald was the single most destructive force in the game from his interior alignment on the Rams defensive line, earning an overall PFF grade of 95.2 and recording a staggering 113 quarterback pressures, both the best marks of any player in the league."

Despite taking a little longer than it should have to negotiate a new deal, deep down the Rams always knew the importance of making sure Donald would be around for the long run, meaning most fans knew a new contract was going to happen at some point.

Best part is, after playing another major role in helping Los Angeles win the NFC West for a second year in a row along with earning a trip to the Super Bowl before falling to the New England Patriots, Donald will be motivated more than ever for the 2019 season.

Knowing the competitive mindset Donald has, the defensive tackle is going to do everything in his power to make sure the Rams are in position once again to represent the NFC in next year’s Super Bowl down in Miami.

It’s certainly not going to be easy since plenty of other teams will be ready to put up a fight with Los Angeles to earn those honors, but at least Donald’s presence gives the Rams a better chance of this dream becoming a reality.

Plus, if Donald puts together another monster season like he did in 2018, there’s a good chance PFF could have another easy decision on their hands in naming the Rams star the top player once again since nothing seems capable of slowing him down any time soon.