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Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner did the unthinkable last season — he aptly followed a legendary rookie campaign from 2021 Defensive Rookie of the Year Micah Parsons with a legendary rookie year of his own en route to winning the prestigious NFL award.
Now, Gardner and Parsons in back-to-back seasons? Two tough acts to follow for the defensive group from the 2023 draft class. Who will stand out most this upcoming season?
Gardner’s cruise to DROY in 2022 made him just the third cornerback to take home the award since Charles Woodson’s win in 1998. Historically, the DROY award is predominantly owned by defenders who sack the quarterback and those who tackle the ball carrier. Also, like Offensive Rookie of the Year, this is a first-round pick-dominated distinction. Only two of the last 20 DROYs were selected outside of Round 1.
Kancey is Aaron Donald’s size — despite shorter arms, which absolutely matter for defensive linemen — with Donald-esque explosiveness and close to a Donald-type loaded arsenal of pass-rush moves. He’s in for a productive rookie season, but on a rebuilt Buccaneers defensive front, I can’t envision him getting the sack total likely needed to garner serious Defensive Rookie of the Year consideration. Voters are starting to value pressures — and pressure rate — over pure sacks, but that line of thinking isn’t widespread enough for any solely disruptive defensive tackle to win the award. Yet.
I adored Campbell during the pre-draft process. Easily my LB1 in the 2023 class with a top 25 grade. No qualms from me about when he was drafted by Detroit. He’s going to be a three-down monster on the Lions defense — think 100-plus tackles, a few sacks, a handful of tackles for loss and the occasional splash play in coverage.
But in order to win DROY as a traditional off-ball linebacker like Campbell most certainly is, the stat sheet needs to be totally jam-packed, and he…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/ranking-2023-nfl-defensive-rookie-of-the-year-candidates-christian-gonzalez-ready-to-shine-with-patriots/
Author : Chris Trapasso
Publish date : 2023-06-01 13:29:24
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