The D Zone Football › News › Detroit King grad Sauce Gardner (NY Jets CB) and Divine Child grad Aidan Hutchinson (Detroit Lions DE) nominated for Rookie of the Year
Detroit King grad Sauce Gardner (NY Jets CB) and Divine Child grad Aidan Hutchinson (Detroit Lions DE) nominated for Rookie of the Year
Written by
Jeff Corrion
Published
01/17/2023
Detroit King grad Sauce Gardner (NY Jets CB) and Divine Child grad Aidan Hutchinson (Detroit Lions DE) are 2 of 6 players nominated for the NFL Rookie of the Year!
New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner led the NFL in passes defensed with 20, the most by a rookie since 2015, and was one of two players to record at least 75 tackles and 15 passes defensed in 2022. He became the first player since 2000 to record at least one pass defensed in each of his first seven career games and was one of four players to record at least one pass defensed in 12-or-more games this season.
Detroit Lions defensive lineman Aidan Hutchinson led all rookies with 9.5 sacks this season and became the first rookie since 1982, when the individual sack became an official statistic, with at least nine sacks and three interceptions (three). He also became the fourth player since 1982 with at least nine sacks, three interceptions and two fumble recoveries (two) in a season, joining Pro Football Hall of Famer RICHARD DENT (1990), JOEY PORTER (2002) and OTIS WILSON (1985). In Week 2, Hutchinson recorded three sacks at 22 years and 40 days old and became the fourth-youngest player since 1982 to record three sacks in a game, trailing only VERNON MAXWELL (21 years and 321 days old in Week 2, 1983), NICK BOSA (22 years and four days old in Week 8, 2019) and GREG TOWNSEND (22 years and 24 days old in Week 13, 1983).