Former Indianapolis Colts center Jeff Saturday was asked to give predictions coming into the new NFL season. On ESPN’s NFL Live, he said that he believes that Los Angeles Rams‘ defensive lineman Aaron Donald will win the regular season MVP.
“This guy is the best player in football, how he has not won the MVP… I get (Patrick) Mahomes, I get everyone loves points and I (was) an offensive player,” Saturday said on ESPN’s NFL Live. “What this guy has done from the position has been absolutely astounding for me.”
Donald was dominant to say the least last season. According to Pro Football Focus, the Rams player finished first in the league in sacks, with 20.5, first in the league for tackles for loss, with 25, and first in the league for hits on the quarterback, with 41. He also topped all NFL defensive linemen with 106 pressures on the quarterback.
According to USA Today, Donald is the third player in the NFL to record at least 20.5 sacks and 25 tackles for loss in 16 regular season games, joining the company of JJ Watt and DeMarcus Ware.
As well as Donald played last year, breaking multiple defensive line stats, he still got swept in the MVP voting section, not receiving a single vote. So what would Donald have to do this season in order to win it?
Adam Schein of NFL.com seems to agree with Saturday on this one. About Donald’s MVP run this year, he said, “the Rams‘ stud is the single best non-quarterback in the NFL and the best defensive player in the league, bar none. He wrecks games. He’s unstoppable. No other interior defensive lineman has ever posted as many sacks in a season as Donald’s league-leading 20.5 last year,” he continues, according to NFL.com. “Donald will be my pick, as per usual, for Defensive Player of the Year, an award he’s won two years running. Now, his MVP candidacy does suffer from the fact that he plays defense, at a position that is not commonly associated with gaudy stats, as well as the fact that Donald’s head coach, Sean McVay, leads a sensational and explosive offense for the Rams. But never get it twisted. This cat is the truth.”
With more exposure to his name this year, and having won the defensive player of the yer back-to-back now, surely Donald will receive some support for this year’s MVP if he continues to play at the level he’s been playing at.
