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Our boy Chop getting some recognition...I'd probably put Mitchell as my DPOY just cause of Phillys defense and what he brings to it but Chop has the brightest future considering his age and already decent production
Coverage stats can be a little misleading for safeties, given that they aren't always latching onto single receivers and aren't necessarily at the center of a play when they make a mistake that leads to a big gain. With that being said, Bullock has the best passer rating allowed for any defensive back in the league this season (39.5). He has contributed to that figure by intercepting five passes, the most of any rookie.
Playing almost exclusively as a deep safety, Bullock has been part of the league's best downfield pass defense. On throws 10 or more yards downfield, the Texans have produced a league-best 57.6 QBR, with opposing quarterbacks completing 36.2% of their passes and throwing as many interceptions (12) as touchdowns (12). They were also the league's best defense in single-high looks, posting a 39.2 QBR allowed, with Bullock often playing that center-field role.
Verse was the best rookie pass rusher for most of 2024. He turned 16.8% of his pass-rushing opportunities into pressures, the seventh-best rate among all defenders and one-tenth of 1 percentage point behind the guy just ahead of him in first place.
Verse's raw totals aren't remarkable, -- he has only 4.5 sacks -- but he has 11 tackles for loss and 18 quarterback knockdowns and pops consistently on tape. He made a critical play on a third-and-1 against the Seahawks earlier this season in overtime to blow up a run for no gain, setting up a fourth-down stuff that eventually led to a Rams victory. He has formed an excellent one-two punch with former Florida State teammate Braden Fiske, whose rookie-class-leading 8.5 sacks also made him a contender here.
The only thing holding back Verse has been a decline over the second half of the season. He had a 19.3% pressure rate though Week 11 while averaging five pressures per game, per NFL Next Gen Stats, but that has fallen to 12.8% and an average of three pressures per contest over the past two months. Verse has still been very good, but that left the window open enough for a player who has been blistering hot in the second half.
Over the first seven weeks of the season, Robinson was having a mostly anonymous campaign. It took a month for Miami to give its first-round pick a regular rotational role on defense, and across 69 pass-rush opportunities, he had no sacks and one quarterback knockdown.
Since then, he has been one of the league's best pass rushers. His 15.5% pressure rate over that stretch ranks second among defensive linemen, trailing only Myles Garrett. Expand it out to the full season and he has still been impressive. His 7.4% quick pressure rate -- which measures how often the rusher gets after the quarterback within 2.5 seconds -- ranks fourth in the league across the entire season among players with at least 250 pass-rush attempts. That's not among rookies; it's fourth among all pass rushers, trailing only Trey Hendrickson, Garrett and Micah Parsons.
Robinson finished the season with a modest total of six sacks, which isn't going to draw massive attention, but he has quietly become a star.
My pick after Week 4: Kamari Lassiter, CB, Texans
My pick after Week 9: Verse
Barnwell's final picks for every major NFL award: Debating Lamar Jackson vs. Josh Allen
Bill Barnwell ranks the candidates for MVP, rookies of the year and best coach after the end of the 2024 regular season. Who should win NFL MVP?
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Barnwell's final picks for every major NFL award: Debating Lamar Jackson vs. Josh Allen
Bill Barnwell ranks the candidates for MVP, rookies of the year and best coach after the end of the 2024 regular season. Who should win NFL MVP?
3. Calen Bullock, S, Texans
Pick: No. 78Coverage stats can be a little misleading for safeties, given that they aren't always latching onto single receivers and aren't necessarily at the center of a play when they make a mistake that leads to a big gain. With that being said, Bullock has the best passer rating allowed for any defensive back in the league this season (39.5). He has contributed to that figure by intercepting five passes, the most of any rookie.
Playing almost exclusively as a deep safety, Bullock has been part of the league's best downfield pass defense. On throws 10 or more yards downfield, the Texans have produced a league-best 57.6 QBR, with opposing quarterbacks completing 36.2% of their passes and throwing as many interceptions (12) as touchdowns (12). They were also the league's best defense in single-high looks, posting a 39.2 QBR allowed, with Bullock often playing that center-field role.
2. Jared Verse, Edge, Rams
Pick: No. 19Verse was the best rookie pass rusher for most of 2024. He turned 16.8% of his pass-rushing opportunities into pressures, the seventh-best rate among all defenders and one-tenth of 1 percentage point behind the guy just ahead of him in first place.
Verse's raw totals aren't remarkable, -- he has only 4.5 sacks -- but he has 11 tackles for loss and 18 quarterback knockdowns and pops consistently on tape. He made a critical play on a third-and-1 against the Seahawks earlier this season in overtime to blow up a run for no gain, setting up a fourth-down stuff that eventually led to a Rams victory. He has formed an excellent one-two punch with former Florida State teammate Braden Fiske, whose rookie-class-leading 8.5 sacks also made him a contender here.
The only thing holding back Verse has been a decline over the second half of the season. He had a 19.3% pressure rate though Week 11 while averaging five pressures per game, per NFL Next Gen Stats, but that has fallen to 12.8% and an average of three pressures per contest over the past two months. Verse has still been very good, but that left the window open enough for a player who has been blistering hot in the second half.
1. Chop Robinson, Edge, Dolphins
Pick: No. 21Over the first seven weeks of the season, Robinson was having a mostly anonymous campaign. It took a month for Miami to give its first-round pick a regular rotational role on defense, and across 69 pass-rush opportunities, he had no sacks and one quarterback knockdown.
Since then, he has been one of the league's best pass rushers. His 15.5% pressure rate over that stretch ranks second among defensive linemen, trailing only Myles Garrett. Expand it out to the full season and he has still been impressive. His 7.4% quick pressure rate -- which measures how often the rusher gets after the quarterback within 2.5 seconds -- ranks fourth in the league across the entire season among players with at least 250 pass-rush attempts. That's not among rookies; it's fourth among all pass rushers, trailing only Trey Hendrickson, Garrett and Micah Parsons.
Robinson finished the season with a modest total of six sacks, which isn't going to draw massive attention, but he has quietly become a star.
My pick after Week 4: Kamari Lassiter, CB, Texans
My pick after Week 9: Verse