2013 PFF Defensive Rookie of the Year

All year long I’ve been producing a weekly piece entitled The Race for Rookie of the Year. In that I’ve looked at all the rookies and determined just who is the top guy out there. Well now I’ve invited some fellow analysts into the discussion to help name the PFF awards.

So now we’re going to look at how is the 2013 PFF Defensive Rookie of the Year, with a countdown from three runners up to the eventual winner.

3rd Runner Up

Star Lotulelei, DT, Carolina Panthers

If you’re looking at a big reason as to why the Panthers' defense has looked so much better this year we’d advise looking up front. In particular, take a gander at the ample frame of first round pick Star Lotulelei who has been a beast against the run.

Of all defensive tackles he tied for the sixth-highest grade against the run, and it owed a lot more than just occupying blockers. No, the Panther ended up with 30 stops against the run on his 233 run defense snaps, good for a Run Stop Percentage of 12.9%. That was second-highest of all defensive tackles and showed just how much of a force he was.

Sure he could rush the passer a little better, but his production this season was exactly what the team was hoping for.

2nd Runner Up

Tyrann Mathieu, SCB/S, Arizona Cardinals

In the eyes of some of our staff Tyrann Mathieu deserved to win it all. Why? Well it’s not easy playing well at one spot in the NFL. Let alone playing well at two and doing it as a rookie.

Looking like a natural from Day 1 the part safety/ part slot cornerback graded positively in all but one game. He did that by getting more pressure than all but two defensive backs, picking up 20 tackles against the run and ending the year with a healthy two picks and six pass break-ups.

Get well soon, Honey Badger, the league was better for your presence.

1st Runner Up

Sheldon Richardson, DE, New York Jets

He led my Race for Rookie of the Year all the way through the season, but when push came to shove he narrowly missed out in the tightest of tight votes.

There’s an awful lot to like about Richardson who finished second behind J.J. Watt with a +34.0 run defense grade. Ultimately he fell short in part because of the numbers he put up rushing the passer where his Pass Rushing Productivity score was only 17th out of 22 qualifying 3-4 ends.

Still, it was a tremendously impactful rookie year and if he can make the kind of leap in this regard that Muhammad Wilkerson made from Year 1 to Year 2, then you should be very scared about what that Jets defense might do.

2013 PFF Defensive Rookie of the Year

Desmond Trufant, CB, Atlanta Falcons

He snuck up on us, lost a little in a horrible year for Atlanta but shining brightly enough by the end that nobody could miss it.

Trufant looked a little lost in preseason but we’re now convinced he was just rope-a-doping us because once the regular season started he looked like exactly the player the Falcons needed from the draft. He ended the year with a league-leading 15 pass break-ups to go with his two picks, allowing just 53.4% of balls thrown his way to be completed.

That earned him the eighth-highest coverage grade of all cornerbacks and what makes that so special and him the Defensive Rookie of the Year, is just how hard that is to do as a rookie.

Look, for example, at how long it took Dee Milliner to show up and you see just how rare a feat Trufant achieved in a team with ranked as our worst pass rushing outfit.

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