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SEC Football

Given three choices, NFL analyst names three former SEC players for Defensive Rookie of the Year

Michael Wayne Bratton

By Michael Wayne Bratton

Published:

Considering we haven’t seen the latest batch of NFL rookies take the field for a single snap of action in their professional careers, it’s somewhat of a fool’s errand to pick the rookies of the year at this point in time. Despite that fact, former NFL scout and current NFL Media analyst Bucky Brooks did his best to look into his crystal ball and pick out the future wave of standout players entering the NFL ranks in the season to come.

Instead of simply picking out three names, Brooks went about this task in a unique way for NFL.com. He named the current favorite to win each rookie of the year award for offense and defense, as well as the sexy pick and sleeper pick to capture each award.

Brooks’ favorite to capture the NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award is running back Leonard Fournette from the Jacksonville Jaguars. After being selected with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft out of LSU, Fournette is expected to step immediately into the lineup in Jacksonville and contribute meaning snaps and production for a team desperate to help struggling quarterback Blake Bortles.

While obviously impressed with what Fournette was able to accomplish in college, Brooks was clearly even more impressed with the defenders coming out of the SEC. All three of Brooks’ selections for Defensive Rookie of the Year hail from the SEC.

His favorite was defensive end Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns. The No. 1 overall pick has already started to turn some heads in Cleveland and will be expected to lock down a starting role immediately for the Browns.

Safety Jamal Adams of the New York Jets was selected as the sexy pick to take home top honors on the defensive side of the ball. The No. 6 overall pick in the latest draft, Adams left LSU early after three seasons of dominant play in the SEC.

The sleeper from the SEC is defensive end Carl Lawson of the Cincinnati Bengals. When healthy, few players performed better than Lawson during his college career. Unfortunately for Lawson and Auburn, that didn’t happen nearly enough during his days on the Plains. Lawson was selected in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Bengals.

Michael Wayne Bratton

A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com

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