The Indianapolis Colts have a lot of young talent on display across their defense, and it appears that it’s time for rookie safety Julian Blackmon to be a part of the Defensive Rookie of the Year conversation.
The third-round pick has been making plays all year in the Colts defense as the replacement for Malik Hooker, who is out for the season with a torn Achilles. He put that skill on display again during Sunday’s wild 34-31 win over the Packers when he forced a game-saving fumble in overtime.
The Colts went on to win the game because of it, and many are campaigning for Blackmon to lead the DROY discussion. That includes All-Pro linebacker Darius Leonard.
Colts LB Darius Leonard a tackling machine AND a great agent, too. Leonard on safety Julian Blackmon:
"We gotta start talking about him for defensive rookie of the year. There's nobody doing what he's doing."
— Mike Wells (@MikeWellsNFL) November 23, 2020
Let’s name another rookie who’s playing better than @JumpManJu32 ? I’ll wait! Dude is playing like no other! Put some respect on his name!
— Darius Leonard (@dsleon45) November 23, 2020
Leonard, who won the award after his historic rookie season in 2018, knows a thing or two about what it takes to win the award. Blackmon has been playing as the best rookie safety and one of the top safeties altogether in 2020.
In nine games (eight starts), Blackmon has 26 tackles (23 solo), two interceptions, six passes defended and two tackles for loss.
What makes his rookie campaign even more impressive is the fact that the team wasn’t even expecting this much production this quickly. Blackmon tore his ACL in December, and the team wasn’t expecting him to make an impact until October at the earliest.
But he started making big plays both against the pass and the run back in September. It took him just one week to solidify his role as the starting safety alongside second-year defender Khari Willis.
Blackmon has been a key cog in the defensive unit that has become a part of the elite conversation, and he could be on his way to some hardware by the end of his first season.
