Aaron Donald has won NFL Defensive Player of the Year three times. He’s a six-time All-Pro and seven-time Pro Bowler, destined for the Pro Football Hall of Fame one day. One honor he hasn’t received is NFL MVP – an award that’s almost reserved for quarterbacks and running backs.
Donald would love to win it this year, as would one bettor.
According to BetMGM, someone put $500 on Donald to win MVP this season. At +20000, that would pay out $100,000 if the Rams defensive tackle winds up bringing home the hardware. He would be the first defensive player to win it since Lawrence Taylor did in 1986.
A bettor at @BetMGM wagered $500 to win $100,000 on Aaron Donald +20000 to win NFL MVP.
Lawrence Taylor was the last defensive player to win MVP in 1986.
— John Ewing 🦁 (@johnewing) August 19, 2021
Donald made a push to be named MVP in 2018 when he had 20.5 sacks, 25 tackles for a loss and 41 QB hits, absolutely dominating week in and week out. But even with that historic season, Patrick Mahomes won thanks to his 50 touchdown passes and 5,097 yards through the air.
It’s simply too hard for a defensive player to win MVP, especially when quarterbacks are throwing for 40 touchdowns and 5,000 yards almost every year.
Cashing a $100,000 slip would be nice, but the daring bettor shouldn’t hold his breath.
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