INDIANAPOLIS — Another day, another honor for Darius Leonard.
The National Football League today announced that the Indianapolis Colts linebacker was voted by fans as the Week 2 Rookie of the Week for his standout performance against the Washington Redskins.
Leonard beat out a field that included Denver Broncos running back Phillip Lindsay (107 rushing yards), New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley (108 scrimmage yards), Los Angeles Chargers safety Derwin James (eight tackles [two for a loss], one pass defensed, one sack) and New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold (334 yards passing, one touchdown).
Leonard's performance against the Redskins blew the rest of the field out of the water, however. He had 18 tackles — 15 of them solo stops — and filled out the rest of the stat sheet with one sack, one forced fumble and one pass broken up, leading the Colts to their first win of the season, 21-9, at FedExField.
(UPDATED: Leonard has since been credited with an additional assisted tackle this week. Since at least 1994, his 19 tackles are tied for the second most in a single game in Colts history.)
Leonard, a second-round (36th-overall) pick out of FCS South Carolina State, was already named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week on Wednesday.
"It's a pretty special award, and only in your second game to get that award, just says a lot about him," Colts head coach Frank Reich said of Leonard. "He was incredibly productive, didn't miss tackles. The guy is unbelievable, just the leverage he played with, the length, the ability, you couldn't ask for a better start and a better young leader than what he is showing us and giving us right now."
Leonard — who enters Sunday's Week 3 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field as the league's leader in total tackles (27) — said he was "very honored" to receive recognition from the league for his performance.
"Very honored and thankful," Leonard said. "(I'll) try to see if I can match my performance this upcoming Sunday."
Leonard joins Cleveland Browns cornerback Denzel Ward as the two Rookie of the Week winners so far this season.
