X Marks the Spot: No Understating the Season Howard Is Putting Together
Xavien Howard probably is a long shot to be named NFL Defensive Player of the Year, but it was good to see his name appear on the list of betting candidates released by BetOnline.ag this week.
It was nice and deserved recognition for the Miami Dolphins cornerback, who is putting together one of the best defensive seasons in team history.
Stats will show that Howard leads the NFL in interceptions with seven, which matches his career high set in 2018.
But his outstanding performance extends far beyond just picks.
In a league where all the rules tend to favor the offense, Howard is allowing opponents (per pro-football-reference.com advanced stats) to complete only 45.9 percent of their passes when throwing in his direction and the opponent passer rating when Howard is targeted is a measly 43.2.
Those two figures rank first in the NFL among all cornerbacks.
But there's more: Howard's numbers also are better than what Stephon Gilmore produced in 2019 on his way to being named NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Gilmore allowed a 50.5 percent completion rate and an opponent passer rating of 44.1.
Howard also is better through 11 games than the other first-team All-Pro Bowl cornerback last season, Buffalo's Tre'Davious White, whose stats included a 50.0 completion percentage allowed and an opponent passer rating of 43.3.
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Maybe you prefer Pro Football Focus as a gauge.
OK then. Howard's current PFF grade is at 86.6, higher than either Gilmore (82.6) or White (76.4) earned last year.
So basically all metrics suggest Howard is performing better than any other cornerback this year or last year.
As we stated at the very top, it's not likely to be enough to get him Defensive Player of the Year honors because of the work put in already by betting front-runner Aaron Donald or second favorite T.J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers, though maybe he can move into serious discussion territory with a few more picks.
The Dolphins have had three winners of the award: safety Dick Anderson in 1973, defensive end Doug Betters in 1983 and Jason Taylor (he was listed as a defensive end but really was more of a linebacker) in 2006.
It says here that, given his position, what Howard is doing this year is just as impressive as what any of the three aforementioned players did, and probably more.
At the very least, Howard appears headed toward earning first-team All-Pro honors, and he would join Sam Madison and Patrick Surtain as the only Dolphins cornerbacks to earn that recognition.
Brent Grimes earned second-team All-Pro honors in 2014, and Howard earned second-team recognition himself in 2018.
But as good as Howard was in 2018, he's been that much better in 2020. The numbers back it up, with Howard allowing a 52.4 completion percentage and a 61.2 passer rating two years ago.
With seven interceptions already, Howard needs three more to tie the team single-season record of 10 set in 1967 by Dick Westmoreland.
And the truth is that, as good as Howard's hands are, he easily could have two more picks had he not dropped catchable balls.
But who's going to complain?
I wrote earlier this week about the defense and special teams being the driving forces behind the success of the team regardless of who plays quarterback, and there's absolutely no question that the best player on the defense has been Howard.
Madison, Surtain and Grimes all had great seasons with the Dolphins, but none of them ever made quite the impact that Howard has made in 2020.
With five games to go, Howard is well on his way to a season that will rival any by any defensive player in team history at any position.
