The NFL hosted its annual honors award ceremony on Thursday night and a couple of Los Angeles Rams players in Cooper Kupp and Aaron Donald were up for awards.
While Kupp fell short of MVP, which went to Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, he was named the NFL’s AP Offensive Player of the Year after his history season.
This was a well-deserved honor for Kupp, who was also named an All-Pro and Pro Bowlers for the first time in his career. Kupp won the NFL receiving triple crown in 2021, finishing with 145 receptions for 1,947 yards and 16 touchdowns.
He has followed that outstanding regular season up with an even better postseason, recording 25 receptions for 386 yards and fourth touchdowns in three games, helping the Rams reach the Super Bowl.
While Kupp took home some hardware at SoFi Stadium on Thursday night, Donald did not. He was in the running for his second straight NFL AP Defensive Player of the Year award, although it ultimately went to Pittsburgh Steelers’ T.J. Watt after he tied the league’s sack record.
That doesn’t change the fact that Donald had another outstanding season in 2021, finishing with a career-high 84 total tackles to go along with 12.5 sacks, 19 tackles for loss, four forced fumbles and four passes defensed. Donald also led the league in pressure and double-team rates, which is an annual thing with him.
In the Rams’ three playoff games, Donald has recorded 1.5 sacks and two tackles for loss. In eight NFL seasons, Donald has been named a Pro Bowler eight times and an All-Pro seven times.
While he would have loved to take home another Defensive Player of the Year award, his main focus in on winning his first ring when the Rams take on the Cincinnati Bengals in the Super Bowl this Sunday.
