Darius Leonard Wins 2018 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year over Derwin James

Indianapolis Colts outside linebacker Darius Leonard was announced as the winner of the 2018 NFL Rookie of the Year Award on Saturday during the 8th Annual NFL Honors show at Fox Theatre in Atlanta.

Leonard edged out Los Angeles Chargers defensive back Derwin James in the voting, per Around the NFL:

• Darius Leonard, LB, Indianapolis Colts: 29 votes
• Derwin James, S, Los Angeles Chargers: 20 votes
• Bradley Chubb, DE, Denver Broncos, 1 vote

Leonard was a second-round pick in the 2018 NFL draft out of South Carolina State. It only took him a month to show he was going to far exceed that value as a rookie by racking up 54 combined tackles and four sacks in four September games.

The 23-year-old rising star finished the season with an NFL-leading 163 combined tackles, eight passes defended, seven sacks, four forced fumbles and two interceptions in 15 appearances. Pro Football Focus graded him as the league's seventh-best linebacker.

Although Leonard enjoyed such immediate success, he was only selected to the Pro Bowl as an alternate, a snub he openly talked about.

"I was heartbroken at first because I thought I did enough, but it is what it is," he told reporters in December.

Leonard can rest assured that winning Defensive Rookie of the Year is a far more rare and prestigious honor than being voted into the Pro Bowl. He joins a list of winners that includes the Denver Broncos' Von Miller, Carolina Panthers' Luke Kuechly and Los Angeles Rams' Aaron Donald over the past decade.

If the outside linebacker can match the production and impact of those superstars, the Colts will have a defensive cornerstone to match quarterback Andrew Luck on the offensive side.