On Wednesday night, the Indianapolis Colts found out they’ll be sending seven players to the Pro Bowl, the most of any team in the NFL.
Jonathan Taylor and Darius Leonard were shoo-ins, Kenny Moore finally got over the hump, Quenton Nelson kept his streak alive, and DeForest Buckner, Ryan Kelly and long snapper Luke Rhodes got deserved nods.
While those are tremendous accomplishments, Taylor and Leonard have their sights set on more prestigious hardware.
Taylor has morphed into a legitimate MVP candidate and Leonard’s otherworldly turnover output has him in “contention” with the likes of TJ Watt and Micah Parsons for Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Why the air quotes around contention, you ask? Well, when you couple the dishonest voting system and the fact the Colts are a small market team, you’ll realize that Leonard won’t get a fair shake when push comes to shove.
Even Leonard has realized he’s fighting a losing battle.
Darius Leonard on DPOY...
— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) December 22, 2021
"I feel like I should've been in the conversation 3 times already. Playing for the Colts, we're not on (national) TV a lot, we kinda get the back row. If I played for Dallas or a big-time team that was on primetime every week, there'd be no question..."
Colts star Darius Leonard is fed up with not getting enough love in Defensive Player of the Year conversations.
Someone frame that quote and forward it to whomever presides over the voting system, because Leonard hit the nail right on the head.
The truth of the matter is Indianapolis, despite its history, doesn’t get as much spotlight as other teams in bigger markets.
The lack of publicity is part of the season Chris Ballard and Frank Reich signed off on being the first team featured on “Hard Knocks in Season.” This roster is full of stars and Ballard and Reich, all too familiar with how overlooked they are in the mainstream media, wanted their players to get their 15 minutes of fame.
Leonard is just calling it like it is. As a linebacker, he’s already at a disadvantage because sacks always hold the most merit in the eyes of voters. After logging 15 sacks over his first three seasons, Leonard’s yet to post one in 2021.
When you compare Leonard’s pass-rushing output, or lack thereof, to Watt (18 sacks, 48 pressures, four forced fumbles) and Parsons (13 sacks, 57 pressures, three forced fumbles), he doesn’t stand a chance.
https://twitter.com/dsleon45/status/1472618579313020929?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1472618579313020929%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fhorseshoeheroes.com%2F2021%2F12%2F21%2Fcolts-darius-leonard-tweets-dpoy-canidate%2F
Nothing about that is fair. For starters, those stars play the majority of their snaps rushing the quarterback. Leonard spends most of his time in the second level of the defense in coverage and sniffing out running plays.
We’d argue that forcing turnovers — Leonard has forced nine already — are more important than sacking a quarterback, but voters will never see it like that. Sacks and pressures are trendy and come in large quantities, whereas turnovers happen every so often. Not even Leonard can make a play on the ball in every game.
Add in the fact that the Colts are stuck in a small market, and it’s easy to see why Leonard is so beside himself. He’s a top-five defensive player in the league, but might end his career without a DPOY award because of everything working against him.
But again, does anyone outside of Indianapolis even care?
Darius Leonard tweets compelling case for him to be in DPOY conversations
Indianapolis Colts linebacker Darius Leonard has a question about the Defensive Player of the Year race for members of the football world.