There isn’t a single rookie in the NFL with more sacks this season than Kobie Turner. Yet, at BetMGM, there are nine players with better odds to win Defensive Rookie of the Year.
In fact, odds for Turner to win the coveted award aren’t even available to bet. Even if his odds were on the board, it probably wouldn’t matter much because Jalen Carter is -700 to win Defensive Rookie of the Year, with Will Anderson Jr. holding the second-best odds at +375.
It’s bad enough that Turner isn’t among the favorites, but it’s egregious that you can’t even bet on him to win the award despite him leading all rookies in sacks with nine – a number that’s tied with Aaron Donald for the most sacks ever by a rookie defensive tackle.
His candidacy goes well beyond just his sack total, too. Pro Football Focus’ numbers can help his case, too. PFF credits him with 11 total sacks, three more than any other rookie. His 45 total pressures rank fourth among all rookies and lead first-year defensive tackles. His pass-rush win rate of 12.9% is lower than Carter’s 16.9% win rate, but Turner has five QB hits to Carter’s four.
Turner leads all rookies with 36 stops, which are categorized as “tackles that constitute a ‘failure’ for the offense,” according to PFF. Carter only has 13 stops. Turner’s 72.8 run-defense grade is 11th among rookies regardless of position, better than Carter’s 65.2 run-defense grade.
Anderson has put together a terrific season for the Texans, too, and has an 80.1 run-defense grade, 57 total pressures and a win rate of 16.3%, but his four sacks (per PFF) are four behind Turner.
The common theme between Carter and Anderson is they were first-round picks. Turner, as we all know, was not. He was selected in the third round, therefore is much more of an unknown to casual fans. Yet, he’s arguably been the best rookie defender in football.
His standout performance of the year came against the Giants on Sunday, recording 2.5 sacks and 10 total pressures. The season-high for both Anderson and Carter is eight each.
@RamsNFL rookie IDL Kobie Turner has more sacks, QB hurries, QB hits, and total pressures than Jalen Carter. No rookie IDL has more sacks (11); Carter ranks second with 7. Highly disruptive player with active, nasty hands. Bit of a Geno Atkins hit here. Unblockable vs. Giants. pic.twitter.com/2QbuVQChBp
— Doug Farrar ✍ (@NFL_DougFarrar) January 2, 2024
Turner has been a revelation for the Rams this year, exceeding all expectations as a third-round rookie. And he’s doing all of this while playing alongside Aaron Donald, who he has more sacks than. Maybe it’s because Turner plays alongside Donald that he’s getting overlooked in the Rookie of the Year race.
No matter the reason, Turner deserves to not just be in the conversation, but leading it.
