September 29, 2015
Matt Rourke/AP
The Falcons beat the Cowboys last Sunday with a little help from Jordan Hicks.
Before the season began, a few pundits thought Nelson Agholor was a prime candidate to win the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. As it turns out, the Eagles may have a contender for Defensive Rookie of the Year on their hands in ILB Jordan Hicks. As we noted yesterday, in roughly six quarters this season, Hicks has 17 tackles, an INT, a sack, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, a pass breakup, and he knocked out Tony Romo for half the season.
Since I have no life, I took a look at all the rookie defenders selected in the 2015 draft, and picked out the ones with the best stats. To note, I should make it clear I've watched almost none of these guys play all that closely. Some players have decent stats but really aren't that good. Other players might be good, but for whatever reason their stats may just be low for whatever reason.
With that disclaimer out of the way, my 2015 Defensive Rookie of the Year watch list:
| Player | Tackles | Sacks | FF-FR | INT | PBU |
| Marcus Peters, CB, Chiefs | 15 | 0 | 0-0 | 2 (1 TD) | 7 |
| Ronald Darby, CB, Bills | 15 | 0 | 0-0 | 2 | 8 |
| Hau'oli Kikaha, OLB, Saints | 18 | 2 | 2-0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jordan Hicks, ILB, Eagles | 17 | 1 | 1-1 | 1 | 1 |
| Kwon Alexander, LB, Buccaneers | 23 | 0 | 0-0 | 1 | 4 |
| Vic Beasley, DE, Falcons | 10 | 2 | 1-0 | 0 | 1 |
| Preston Smith, OLB, Redskins | 2 | 1 | 3-1 | 0 | 1 |
| Bud Dupree, OLB, Steelers | 8 | 2 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| Henry Anderson, DE, Colts | 15 | 1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| Shaq Thompson, LB, Panthers | 12 | 1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| Landon Collins, S, Giants | 16 | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 |
| Stephone Anthony, LB, Saints | 16 | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| Eric Kendricks, LB, Vikings | 15 | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| Leonard Williams, DE, Jets | 15 | 0.5 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kyle Emanuel, LB, Chargers | 5 | 1 | 0-0 | 1 | 1 |
It's actually a bad thing if Hicks seriously challenges for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, because it means that Kiko Alonso and/or Mychal Kendricks will have missed significant time this season. But if he winds up being a starter for enough games, Hicks should be right in that mix at the end of the season.
Follow Jimmy on Twitter: @JimmyKempski
