Winner
AARON DONALD, DT
2018 Stats: 20.5 Sacks/59 TKL/ 4 FF
The numbers Aaron Donald put up this season are just ridiculous. When you consider that Donald put those numbers up playing on the interior of the line, it seems almost impossible. The Rams went all out this season picking up defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh and cornerbacks Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters. Even with those additions, the brightest star in that Rams defense was Aaron Donald. Donald led the NFL with 20.5 sacks and led the Rams to a 13-3 record and a trip to the Super Bowl.
Back ? to ? back ?
Congratulations @AaronDonald97 for being named Defensive Player of the Year!
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— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) February 2, 2019
Other Candidates
KHALIL MACK, DE
2018 Stats: 12.5 Sacks/47 TKL/6 FF/1 INT
Khalil Mack made a bigger difference to his team than any other defensive player in the league. Chicago went 5-11 last season and gave up 320 points for the season. With the addition of Mack, coach of the year candidate Matt Nagy turned the Bears into a 12-4 defensive led playoff team giving up only 283 points on the season. While his numbers don’t stack up favorably when being compared to others in this category, the impact that his presence had on the Bears and lack of presence had on the Raiders should be more than enough to make up for his lower counting stats.
J.J. WATT
2018 Stats: 16 Sacks/61 Tackles/ 7 FF
After missing 24 games in two seasons, the future of J.J. Watt was uncertain. He failed to record a sack in his first two games of the season and many wondered if Watt had finally lost “it”. Then the Giants visited Houston and gave up three sacks to Watt. Although the Texans lost that game and fell to 0-3, Watt proved to have something left in the tank. As it turned out, Watt’s tank was full of rocket fuel. His defense led the Texans on a nine-game winning streak during which he recorded a sack in all but two of those games. Watt’s numbers may not be as good as Donald’s in Los Angeles and his presence may not be as impactful as Mack’s in Chicago, Watt’s return to elite form after missing so much time may be the story that DPOY voters like to reward with their votes.
