There was some controversy earlier this month when Aaron Donald was named 2020 Defensive Player of the Year. There was a contingent of fans who felt T.J. Watt was more deserving of the award, which was backed by J.J. Watt tweeting that his brother should’ve won it.
But there’s no doubt Donald has been the best pass rusher in the league for the last six years. Pro Football Focus shared an unbelievable stat that proves just how dominant Donald has been since 2015.
He owns the five highest pass-rush grades in the NFL since 2015. His grades ranged from 93.1 to 94.2, all of which are higher than any other player in the league in the last six seasons.
Highest pass-rush grades since 2015:
1. Aaron Donald (2017) – 94.2
T-2. Aaron Donald (2020) – 93.6
T-2. Aaron Donald (2018) – 93.6
4. Aaron Donald (2016) – 93.3
5. Aaron Donald (2015) – 93.1 pic.twitter.com/Wj5mmzee0J— PFF (@PFF) February 20, 2021
Donald leads the NFL with 76.5 sacks, 113 tackles for loss and 188 QB hits since 2015. He has 20 more tackles for loss and 47 more QB hits than any other player, and Chandler Jones ranks second in sacks with 73.5.
The craziest part is he’s the only interior defensive lineman with at least 49 sacks in that span. The other 12 players in the top 13 are all edge rushers, with Calais Campbell ranking 14th in sacks (48.5) since 2015.
Terrell Burgess and Sebastian Joseph-Day both reacted to PFF’s tweet, with Burgess calling Donald the GOAT.
🐐 @AaronDonald97 https://t.co/T6U4odQmcK
— Terrell Burgess (@TiTaniumT98) February 20, 2021
🤢🤮 INSANITY https://t.co/PpKQcDLXxz
— Sebastian Joseph-Day (@SJD_51) February 20, 2021
