Early under-the-radar standouts of the current NFL season

#7 and #8 Darius Leonard & Anthony Walker

At this point Darius Leonard is one of the top candidates to be named Defensive Rookie of the Year together with Derwin James and Denzel Ward, who I didn’t put on this list because I think they are getting the recognition they deserve. Leonard is so instinctive and aggressive. He constantly shoots gaps and creates trouble in the run game as well as timing up blitzes perfectly.

In coverage he gets depth quickly even if run-fakes hold him for a second, he displays fluid hips to redirect and he doesn’t allow any extra yardage to shallow crossers. He put on a clinic on how to win as an open-field tackler against the Redskins’ dynamic receiving back Chris Thompson. Leonard already has 41 tackles, with six of those going for loss, three sacks, a forced fumble and two pass-deflection, while not missing a single snap all year.

Let’s get to the Colts’ second inside linebacker. I was a big fan of Anthony Walker at Northwestern because he played with so much heart and brought the thump, but he never looked nearly as dynamic in college as he does now in the NFL. I’ve seen him run around blockers, carry receivers down the seams and just show up all over the field. On Sunday he got his first career INT in Carson Wentz’s return. These two guys are just flying around.