Game Ball: Muhammad Wilkerson

As you might note, Samsung has been kind enough to sponsor this post through the rest of the regular season.

There were plenty of heroes in the blowout win of Jacksonville. I would like to single out a rookie playing a very difficult spot who is quietly succeeding. Rookie defensive linemen frequently struggle, particularly those facing double teams. This is especially true of small school prospects who do not need to play with consistent technique to dominate inferior competition in college and might develop bad habits. Through two weeks, Muhammad Wilkerson has held his own. It has not always shown up in the stat sheet because his job as much as anything is to hold the point of attack.

Wilkerson has demonstrated the ability to use his hands and shed blockers. He also shined in one play against Jacksonville, lining up over the ball on a passing down. He broke through traffic to record his first career sack, a safety that made it a two score game before the Jets touched it a second time.

This high achieving rookie gets a game ball from me.

To whom would you give a game ball?