The NFL honors for Ravens inside linebacker C.J. Mosley have begun.
Mosley was named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month for October on Thursday.
It further boosts his bid for NFL Rookie of the Year.
The last Ravens defender to win the award was Terrell Suggs in 2003. Suggs went on to win Defensive Rookie of the Year.
"I didn't really have a timetable for when I would start doing these kinds of things, but I knew what kind of player I was and I knew why the Ravens drafted me," the 17th-overall pick said. "My biggest thing was just to prove that I could play in this league and that I could play on this defense."
Through the first half of the season, Mosley is fourth in the NFL in tackles 76. He is the only NFL defender to post at least 70 tackles, an interception, a fumble recovery and forced fumble entering Week 9.
"He's everything we thought he was and hoped he would be," Defensive Coordinator Dean Pees said.
Pees said it's Mosley's intelligence that has set him apart as a rookie. A lot of rookies need to be taught how to study, which was something former Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis helped them with. Well Lewis isn't around and Mosley is doing just fine with the mental side of the game.
"That was what was great about having Ray [Lewis] and those guys around was that they could follow his lead for a while," Pees said. "[Mosley's] got Daryl and Daryl does a great job, but he's kind of a guy that was like that when he came in. That's what he is and it's very evident in how he plays."
Bears cornerback Kyle Fuller was the NFL's Defensive Rookie of the Month for September. He and Minnesota Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr are Mosley's top competition for the yearly award.
