Is the Defensive Player of the Year in Miami? If you haven't paid close attention to the Dolphins' defensive resurgence, you've probably missed the emergence of a superstar at cornerback.
Xavien Howard has blossomed into arguably the best cover corner in football with a unique set of skills that should thrust him into the conversation for Defensive Player of the Year.
The Patriots'
Stephon Gilmore won the award a season ago, but it is rare for voters to recognize a cornerback as the best defender in football. Five other CBs have received the honor since it was first awarded in 1971: Charles Woodson (2009), Deion Sanders (1994), Rod Woodson (1993), Lester Hayes (1980) and Mel Blount (1975). Each member of that distinguished list was recognized as a shutdown corner and three of them are members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame (with another, Charles Woodson,
en route to enshrinement). It is obviously too soon to proclaim Howard a future gold-jacket recipient, but the 27-year-old displays a mix of ballhawking skills and lockdown ability that's hard to find at the position.
Howard leads the league with sevens picks this season and has the most interceptions in the league since 2017 (18) despite missing 15 games over that span. That is
stunning production. Consider this: His career interceptions-per-game rate (0.37) is better than that of Ronnie Lott (0.33), Rod Woodson (0.30), Sanders (0.28), Charles Woodson (0.26), Champ Bailey (0.24) and Darrelle Revis (0.20). And since 2017, he's allowed the second-lowest passer rating (55.8) among cornerbacks who have been targeted 100 or more times, per Next Gen Stats.
As a combination of ballhawk and play eraser, Howard is quickly becoming the premier playmaker on the island. He excels in man and zone coverage, with his footwork, fundamentals and technique enabling him to snuff out receivers whether he's playing bump-and-run or from distance. In addition, Howard's exceptional instincts, awareness and diagnostic skills shine when he plays with vision on the quarterback. He has a knack for reading routes and anticipating throws. Most importantly, he catches the ball when it is within his vicinity. As you might expect, none of this is lost on his defensive coordinator, Josh Boyer.
"He's really put in consistent and good all-around performances from a run-game standpoint, a pass-game standpoint, as far as his technique at the line of scrimmage, his leverage in pass coverage, his technique at the top of the route," Boyer
told Omar Kelly of the Sun Sentinel. "He's really becoming a complete corner and doing it very consistently for a long period of time.
"It's really a credit to him and his work ethic that we're seeing strides on a week-in and week-out basis."
Hopefully, those strides won't go unnoticed when it comes time to recognize the best defensive performers of the 2020 season.
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