Aaron Donald perfect choice for best player from 2014 draft class

Aaron Donald of the Los Angeles Rams was recently selected as the best player from the 2014 draft class courtesy of NFL.com

Looking back at the previous five seasons, the Los Angeles Rams realize just how fortunate they were to select Aaron Donald with the No. 13 pick back in the 2014 NFL Draft.

From earning back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year honors over the last two seasons to setting a career high in 2018 with 20.5 sacks, Donald has quickly worked his way into becoming one of the NFL’s best players.

Best part is, thanks to the Rams rewarding their defensive superstar with a hefty extension last summer, Donald will be part of the picture on defense through the 2024 season.

One can only imagine the difficult challenge that Donald faces topping a career year like last season, but if anyone seems capable of pulling it off, the Pittsburgh product seems like the perfect candidate.

After watching Los Angeles come up short the way they did last winter during Super Bowl 53, it’s safe to assume that Donald will be more motivated than ever to put the Rams in the best position possible to earn another trip this upcoming season.

Clearly, Donald is a rare kind player with one of the best work ethics in the NFL, and when the Rams star defender was most recently named the top player from the 2014 draft class, this really wasn’t all that surprising.

NFL.com columnist Adam Schein recently took a stroll down memory lane to give a look at the best player from each of the last nine draft classes. And while there were plenty of other strong candidates from 2014 such as Khalil Mack or Mike Evans, Donald still deserves the honors by a long shot.

With all due respect to the rest of his classmates, what Donald has been able to accomplish since joining the NFL five years ago has put him in a rare kind of special category to give the Rams a major advantage on the defensive side of the football.

Just look at some of the teams that ended up passing on Donald back in 2014, as they now have to live with the painful thought of wondering what could have been, but at least this worked out for the best for the Rams since they’re happy.

In fact, if Donald has anything to say about the upcoming 2019 season, this most likely won’t be the last time he takes home some type of honors from now until the end of the year.