Why C.J. Mosley Should Be Favorite to Win Defensive Rookie of the Year
There was no more obvious choice for Defensive Rookie of the Year this season than the first overall pick of the 2014 NFL draft, Jadeveon Clowney.
Clowney was expected to be a very productive player from the beginning of the season, because he was joining J.J. Watt in the front seven of the Houston Texans defense. Instead, the outside linebacker has been sidelined by a knee injury for most of the season, opening the door for C.J. Mosley to become the favorite for the award.
Mosley is one of three first-round linebackers who are excelling in starting roles for their respective teams. Both Khalil Mack and Anthony Barr have made more standout plays than the Baltimore Ravens player, but his consistency and well-rounded skill set has given him the edge to this point.
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In eight starts, the 22-year-old has accumulated 76 tackles, six pass deflections, two interceptions and one forced fumble.
Despite his relative youth and inexperience, Mosley's tackle numbers rank fourth overall in the whole league, and no other rookie is within 15 tackles of him. Mosley is one of only two rookies who has more than one interception; Chicago Bears cornerback Kyle Fuller being the other.
While it's clear that Mosley has landed in a good spot to be productive early in his career, playing alongside veteran Daryl Smith and behind veteran Haloti Ngata, his individual play has made him a very valuable member of the Ravens defense.
That shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who watched Mosley in college.
In college, Mosley was arguably the most well-rounded linebacker playing at that level across the nation. He showed off a speed of thought that allowed him to read plays as they developed rather than react to them after they had happened. That, combined with his physical talent, allowed him to become a first-round pick.
It's that thought Mosley might have been a potential top-10 selection if there were fewer concerns about his long-term durability. While those issues may still rear themselves later in his career, for now they are proving to be irrelevant as the linebacker continuously excels on the field.
What makes Mosley most valuable is his ability in coverage. He is a new-age linebacker in the sense that he carries a slender frame and excels in space rather than in tight. Mosley isn't going to blow his way through blockers by lowering his shoulder; instead, he relies on his hand usage and energy to work through traffic in tight spaces.
As this play highlights, Mosley has a short-area burst and an ability to read the play as it develops, which allows him to exploit space quicker than offensive linemen.
Mosley is slow to react to the beginning of this play because Matt Ryan smartly snaps the ball when he recognizes the linebackers communicating with each other. This should allow an offensive lineman to block Mosley out of the play, because they are already moving when he is bringing his eyes back to the quarterback.
The Falcons run a stretch play outside of left tackle that is well blocked on the offensive line. Because of his hesitation, Mosley is met with a guard who has advanced to the second level and is in position to block him out of the play.
Despite being in a less advantageous position, Mosley easily accelerates and slides past the attempted block of the offensive lineman. He now has a clean lane to attack the running back in space and prevent him from advancing to the second level.
Mosley does that with an emphatic but disciplined hit that prevents the back from finishing the play with forward momentum.
While Mosley has been a good run defender, his true value comes in pass coverage. While he may not have blazing athleticism in space, he doesn't need to because of his intelligence. Despite playing at a new level and new pace, Mosley has shown off the discipline and awareness to consistently put himself in the right spot to best serve the defense as a whole.
In zone coverages underneath, Mosley does his best work as he is always aware of his surroundings and understands how to break on the ball. He also shows off the traits to be a valuable man-coverage defender.
On this play against the Cincinnati Bengals, Mosley is going to be put into a situation where he is responsible for the offense's tight end on the left side. It's unclear if he is in man coverage from the start or if it's a zone that simply turns the situation into man coverage, but either way, Mosley plays it perfectly.
As the tight end releases into his route, he advances directly toward Mosley. The linebacker doesn't react to his initial movement, instead holding his position to keep his eyes on the quarterback and the tight end. At this point of the play, Mosley is in position to break on a quick pass or turn with the tight end in his route.
When the tight end stops in a curl route over the middle of the field, Mosley is in position to force the quarterback to hold onto the ball.
After that point, the tight end works back toward the sideline where there is space. Mosley is quick enough to react to his movement and smart enough not to go through the back of the quarterback's intended receiver when the ball is thrown.
He makes a great play on the football, but the tight end gets to it first. Even though Mosley disrupts the catch point, the tight end is able to make an impressive second effort to prevent it from hitting the ground.
Mosley may have "given up" the catch on this play, but his coverage couldn't have been better. He forced the quarterback to throw a perfectly placed pass and the tight end to make a very impressive catch. This is the kind of play that shows off his ability in space.
The most valuable trait in a linebacker nowadays isn't athleticism or an ability to get off blockers: It's versatility.
Linebackers who can be at least above average in every area allow the defense to be more flexible with their play design and play-calling. If a linebacker is incapable of playing in coverage and needs to have his flaws masked by blitzing or standing on the sideline, his value significantly drops.
Even though Mosley isn't a great run defender yet, he is doing enough in that area to highlight the value of his coverage ability. At this point of his career, no other defender from his draft class is succeeding to his level in such a prominent role.
A fully healthy Clowney is always going to draw a huge amount of attention and preference from voters because he is a pass-rusher, but he has some ground to make up on Mosley over the second half of the season if he wants to claim the award.
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