NFL.com names four SEC players among Defensive Rookie of the Year favorites
By Adam Spencer
Published:
Since nine former SEC defenders were chosen in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft, it stands to reason that there’s a good chance one of those players takes home the Defensive Rookie of the Year award following the 2017 season.
NFL.com experts released their picks for the award last week, and four former SEC players were among the six favorites.
The top-six list, which can be found here, lists DE Myles Garrett (Texas A&M) as the favorite to win the award, which isn’t surprising considering he was the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft.
From there, S Jamal Adams (LSU) is at No. 2 on the list, while DE Derek Barnett (Tennessee) is No. 4 and LB Reuben Foster (Alabama) is tied for fifth with LB Haason Reddick.
Jonathan Allen (Alabama) and Jarrad Davis (Florida) also received votes, but the experts weren’t as high on Charles Harris (Mizzou), Marlon Humphrey (Alabama) and Tre’Davious White’s (LSU) chances to earn the award.
However, anything can happen once the rookies settle into their roles with their NFL teams. One thing is for sure, though — SEC fans will hear from their favorite players a lot on Sundays this fall.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
