Coming into the 2014 NFL season, it’s a lock that the early defensive draft picks, especially Jadeveon Clowney and Khalil Mack will be the favorites to win this season’s Defensive Rookie of the Year award. The two highest profile defensive draft picks are right up there along with Aaron Donald and Justin Gilbert, who were all taken early on in the draft.
But after them, who are some candidates to claim the award? This year’s draft was incredibly deep, especially on defense, and besides the big names, there are three dark horse candidates to grab the award out of the hands of Clowney and Mack.
In order to be the Defensive ROY, a player needs to obviously put up good individual numbers, but they also need to be on a strong overall defense. Individual defensive numbers don’t mean much if the team as a whole isn’t stopping anyone. These three players have a combination of individual upside and they’re on the right teams to be successful to make a play for this award at the end of the year.
Jason Verrett, Cornerback, San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers took Verrett toward the end of the first round, so this wouldn’t be a huge shock, but he’s a dark horse candidates because most people didn’t expect him to go there. He’s coming off shoulder surgery, and for a defensive back, he’s undersized at just 5-foot-10, 176 pounds.
Despite that, Verrett comes into a defense where he’ll start immediately. San Diego doesn’t have a top-15 defense by any means, but there are pieces in place, including Eric Weddle at free safety and Dwight Freeney at linebacker, who the Chargers signed in free agency.
Although his size and injury history (he only played in two games in his final year at Texas Christian) could limit Verrett’s time on the field and relegate him to slot corner duties, if he can find a way to start in this secondary he can make a big impact on a defense that’s desperate for playmakers. In his two games in 2013, Verrett had two interceptions, and in his second year at TCU, Verrett recorded five tackles for a loss, interception six passes and defended 22 others.
Don’t let his size fool you, this is a corner who had first-round talent and could easily be one of the best defensive rookies this season.
Marcus Smith, Linebacker, Philadelphia Eagles
After weeks of pegging the Eagles to go with a wide receiver in the first round of the draft, they surprised fans and analysts by taking Smith. He was a known first round talent, but no one was really penning Smith to the Eagles.
Now that he’s in place, the pick is looking better and better as the days go on for Philadelphia. Smith is a great rusher off the edge who has quick bursts of hspeed. Smith could fall out of the running for the award if Trent Cole is able to play more snaps than people think he can at age 32, but the assumption is Smith will play plenty because of Cole’s age alongside Connor Barwin. The Eagles gambled on Smith, taking him earlier than most thought he’d go, but there’s no doubt he’s a great fit for their 3-4 defense.
If Smith finds enough playing time, and his speed translates well to the pro game, double-digit sacks are not out of the question here.
Deone Bucannon, Safety, Arizona Cardinals
Talk about fit. Arizona already had one of the best defenses in the league, but this offseason they added Antonio Cromartie, now pairing him with Patrick Peterson, who is already a top 10 corner in the league, and Tyrann Mathieu at free safety.
What. A. Secondary. Bucannon can land this award by standing out on a defense that could end up being one of the three or four best in the league. The skill is definitely there — he ran the third fastest 40-yard dash time at the combine and was second in the long jump.
That athleticism gave him a great collegiate career at Washington State, where he picked off 15 passes in 43 career starts, as well as recording 384 career tackles, which is the fourth most in WSU history.
Verrett and Smith may have a better chance of putting up better individual numbers to get this award, but Arizona’s defense has so much potential that it would be hard to look past Bucannon if he’s playing. He’s too athletic and pro-ready to not play a role in this offense, and he comes in to immediately fill a need for an already strong Arizona defense.