Texans Brian Cushing Wins NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award: This should come to no surprise! On Tuesday morning, the Associated Press named Houston Texans linebacker Brian Cushing the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in what ended up being a landslide.
The former Southern Cal standout, who was drafted 15th overall in last year’s Draft, received 39 votes easily 
overtaking Buffalo Bills safety Jairus Byrd who got just 6 votes. Cushing became the seventh straight linebacker to be honored and the ninth over the last ten years.
"I'm just a much smarter football player," Cushing said. "I'm much more advanced than I was this time last year and it was just a good way to start out a career. I'm happy about how everything turned out this year. Of course the playoffs would have been nice, but now we know what we have to do for next season."
In his rookie campaign, Cushing had 133 tackles, as Houston clinched its first winning season in franchise history. The 22-year-old also had five sacks, four picks, and forced two fumbles.
"He brought another element to our football team: his love for the game, his passion, his play, playing beat up, all these things," Texans head coach Gary Kubiak said. "He played like a 10-year vet from the day he stepped on the field. Our players respect what he does with the game and how he goes about his business. We're very fortunate to have him and we're going to have him here for a long, long time. What a year. He was exceptional."
