Madden NFL 20 Player Ratings: Rams' Aaron Donald Joins 99 Club

Aaron Donald is the best defensive player in football, and he's officially rated a 99 in Madden NFL 20, just like he was a year ago.  

Donald, 28, has been absolutely dominant in his career. Last season, he registered 59 tackles, 20.5 sacks, four forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries, historically incredible numbers for an interior defensive lineman. 

Not surprisingly, Pro Football Focus ranked him as the best player in all of football, offense or defense, last season:

"In the 2018 NFL season there really is no question who the best player in the game was, and what is remarkable is that he took his game to another level from an already ridiculous starting point. Donald was the single most destructive force in the game from his interior alignment on the Rams defensive line, earning an overall PFF grade of 95.2 and recording a staggering 113 quarterback pressures, both the best marks of any player in the league."

Donald has the third most sacks in football since entering the league in 2014 (59.5), trailing only Von Miller (63) and Ryan Kerrigan (60) during that time period. His 149 quarterback hits since 2014, meanwhile, lead all players. The next closest player is J.J. Watt with 136.  

Again, he's a defensive tackle. It's rare that an interior player has such an incredible impact against both the run and pass. He was a huge reason the Rams reached the Super Bowl last year and held Tom Brady and the New England Patriots to just 13 points, albeit in a loss.

For Madden players, having a dominant interior force will hamper your opponent's running game and allow you to generate pressure up the middle, which is always difficult to deal with. In both the real and digital worlds, Donald is a force of nature.

And a worthy inclusion in the 99 Club.