Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald was named Pro Football Focus' (PFF) 2019 Pass-Rusher of the Year, the scouting service announced Friday. It is the fifth consecutive year he has received the honor.
PFF cited Donald's 80 total pressures generated – most for an interior defensive lineman – as one of the reasons why he earned the award, as well as what he accomplished despite facing double-teams on 59.6 percent of his pass rushes.
"Again, it's important to underscore how improbable it is for any interior player to lead the league in pressure or pass-rushing because of the advantages edge rushers have in generating pressure," PFF lead NFL analyst Sam Monson wrote. "Donald saw his sack and pressure numbers fall, but a lot of that was circumstances outside of his control. And in terms of pass-rush wins, he was still the best in the league."
This is the fourth league-wide honor earned by Donald this offseason. In addition to being PFF's pick for its Defensive Player of the Year Award, he was also named to the Professional Football Writers of America's (PFWA) All-NFL team last week and a First Team All-Pro by the Associated Press earlier this month. The PFWA also named him to its All-NFC team.
Statistically, Donald led the Rams with 20 tackles for loss and 12.5 sacks this past season.
Monson's full breakdown on Donald's pass-rusher of the year resume can be read here.
