Gerald McCoy was supposed to be a consolation prize.
McCoy and Ndamukong Suh were voted the two All-Big 12 defensive tackles in 2009, McCoy at Oklahoma and Suh at Nebraska. But Suh was considered the NFL prize, having won both the Lombardi and Outland trophies as a senior plus Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year acclaim.
So the Detroit Lions selected Suh with the second overall pick of the 2010 draft, leaving McCoy for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at third overall. Suh went on to collect 10 sacks in his debut season to capture the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award and was the more dominant of the two Big 12 tackles early in their careers.
Suh collected 22 sacks in his first three seasons and went to two Pro Bowls. McCoy was a slower starter with only nine sacks and one Pro Bowl in his first three years. But in the last four years, McCoy has been the more dominant player than Suh — and it will be the task of Cowboys guards Zack Martin and Ronald Leary to block him Sunday night when the Buccaneers visit the Cowboys.
McCoy has collected 33 1/2 sacks and gone to three Pro Bowls over the last four seasons. He leads all NFL defensive tackles in sacks with seven this season. Suh signed a record six-year, $114 million contract with the Miami Dolphins in free agency in 2015. But in his last four seasons he has only 25 sacks and two Pro Bowls.
McCoy and the Tampa Bay defense have been on a tear of late, holding the opposition to 12.8 points per game over the last five weeks. The Buccaneers kept the Seahawks out of the end zone in an 11-5 victory and denied Drew Brees any touchdown passes last weekend in a 16-11 triumph over the Saints. The Bucs also went into Kansas City and thumped the AFC West-leading Chiefs 19-17.
To continue reading this article, click here.
