LA Rams: 5 players appear in “CBS Top 100”

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And here we are at the big boy of the NFL, the defensive wrecking ball on the line of scrimmage. The CBS Top 100 list ranks LA Rams All-Pro defensive lineman Aaron Donald at number two on their list. So who is number one? None other than Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

What does Aaron Donald need to do to get that number one ranking? Well, to be honest, he’s done enough in my humble opinion. He is a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year. He is a six-time All-Pro NFL defensive lineman. Finally, he is a seven-time Pro Bowler. That’s all that he’s done so far. And yet he is still not the number one NFL player? Tough crowd.

I could go on and on and on about how effective Aaron Donald performs for the LA Rams defense. But let’s take a different approach. Donald is so dominant, that he literally bolsters the performance of other defensive teammates. Affectionately known as the Aaron Donald effect, any veteran who is savvy enough to sign on with the Rams gets an immediate and noticeable boost to their production.

That leads to huge contracts, which ultimately become huge problems for the new teams. Even as both Dante Fowler Jr. and Cory Littleton wowed the NFL when they suited up for the LA Rams, neither made much of a blip in their subsequent defenses because they no longer had the Aaron Donald effect to attract the focus of the opposing offense elsewhere.

That’s what should be measured in a ranking of this nature. That impact not only the direct result of personal statistics but the benefit that exudes to his teammates. Does Patrick Mahomes elevate the play of running backs and offensive linemen in a similar fashion? Or does he simply benefit from a built-to-order offense that optimizes his skillsets?

I believe that Aaron Donald is the better overall player for this reason alone: Move Mahomes into any other offense, and he will struggle to achieve similar results. Move Donald into any other defense, and he will have the same results and bolster the performance of ten other players on the defense as well. That’s who Aaron Donald is, the best of the best.