Darius Leonard smashes Colts record for tackles in a rookie season

By Stephen-Michael Thompson Jr

Posted on December 17, 2018

Darius Leonard keeps making noise; wrecking offensive gameplans in the process. The explosive linebacker broke the Indianapolis Colts record for tackles in a rookie season.

Darius Leonard now holds the #Colts franchise record for tackles in a rookie season. 😈 pic.twitter.com/Svo5kzermb

— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) December 16, 2018

Leonard broke Jerrell Freeman’s mark of 145 tackles that has stood since 2012. The rookie standout was all over the field on Sunday, notching 11 tackles. His dominant play has him high in the NFL Defensive Rookie Player of the Year discussions.

He leads the NFL with 146 total tackles, 24 more than the next player on the list. He’s first in solo and assisted tackles. His seven sacks rank second on the Colts roster. Leonard was named the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Month for September, AFC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 2, and twice the NFL Rookie of the Week after Weeks 2 and 8.

#Colts Darius Leonard on shutting out the #Cowboys today—> 'Bend, don't break'. Plenty of #DALvsIND coverage at https://t.co/33Ugb8JEvw pic.twitter.com/XiFnAVioUq

— Clark Wade (@ClarkWade34) December 16, 2018

The SC State legend has truly made his impact this season.

#Colts rookie LB Darius Leonard (@dsleon45) has played so well this season that he continues to get "random" drug tests after games. And he's not happy about it.

Leonard leads the league with 146 tackles. He also has 7 sacks, 4 forced fumbles & 2 fumble recoveries. pic.twitter.com/llqWWXYbuI

— NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) December 17, 2018

Darius Leonard smashes Colts record for tackles in a rookie season