3. DT Aaron Donald
He was the second of two first-round draft choices by the club in 2014. He has earned NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors three times in the past five seasons.
Los Angeles Rams’ defensive tackle Aaron Donald – he of 98 sacks and 23 forced fumbles in 127 regular-season games – has been a Pro Bowler in each of his eight campaigns and named All-Pro in each of the last seven seasons.
And now you can add Super Bowl champion to his impressive resume as the Rams railed to beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 23-20, at SoFi Stadium (LVI) this past February. He seemingly spent more time in the Cincinnati backfield than Joe Burrow during the second half on Super Sunday.
Donald is not only regarded as the best defensive player in the league currently, he is often referred to as the top player in the NFL overall. He has dominated from Day One and it’s almost hard to believe that the former University of Pittsburgh standout actually lasted to the 13th pick in the 2014 NFL Draft.
In fact, it’s worth remembering that the star performer was the second of the team’s two first-round draft choices that year. The franchise opted for Auburn University tackle Greg Robinson with the second overall pick and he proved to be a major disappointment. Not so when it comes to Donald, who is just 31 years old and seems to get better on a yearly basis.