Is Khalil Mack a wallet guy? A money-clip person? Maybe the kind of man who carries a satchel to hold his important possessions? Whatever he carries his money in, it’s probably easy to pick out of a crowd. It’s the one that says “bad motherf—” on the outside.
Khalil Mack is making his claim as the NFL’s top defensive player
The Raiders linebacker has a combination of range, speed, and ferocity unparalleled in the NFL.
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
After a monster month of November, he’s stepped out from a divisional rival’s shadow to establish himself as the league’s premier defender. Mack has emerged as a standout in a sea of names that includes players like Fletcher Cox, Luke Kuechly, Michael Bennett, and $114.5 million dollar man Von Miller thanks to his versatile play. On Thursday, the NFL rewarded his on-field destruction by naming him the AFC Defensive Player of the Month.
His numbers over that three-game span? 11 tackles, four sacks, two fumbles forced, two fumbles recovered, and an interception returned for a touchdown. The Raiders’ record in that span? 3-0, including wins over archrival Denver, AFC South leader Houston, and 2015 NFC champs Carolina.
After two seasons as the best player on a bad team, Mack is being recognized as the driving force behind one of the league’s strongest turnarounds. The Raiders went a combined 10-22 his first two years as a pro. Now, he has Oakland in position to double that number of wins in 2016 by dispatching the Bills at home on Sunday.
Some of those victories don’t happen without Mack, whose nose for the ball has been a major asset in squashing rallies and slicing through potential game-winning drives. He showcased this talent in Week 9, using his speed to come off the edge and preserve a 30-20 win over the Broncos.
He did it again by capping off his November with one of the most dynamic games of any defensive player’s career. He led his Raiders to a 35-32 win over the desperate Carolina Panthers by chipping in six solo tackles, a sack, and the first-ever pick-six against Cam Newton.
But that’s not all. With the game on the line, the Panthers sent three blockers at Mack to protect Newton — two linemen and a tailback. Mack shed them all to find the quarterback, knocked the ball from his hands, and then dove on it to seal Oakland’s fifth straight victory and keep them atop the AFC West.
That’s the kind of day reserved for future Hall of Famers. Case in point:
The surprise on Thursday wasn’t Mack’s choice as Defensive Player of the Month — it’s that it hadn’t happened sooner. The former two-star recruit has ripped through offensive linemen like wildfire since arriving in the NFL. His versatile game makes him a unique challenge for offensive coordinators in both running and passing situations. He has the speed to tear around the edge and confound blockers and the power to run right through them despite his 250-pound frame.
The third-year linebacker made a statement last fall by recording 15 sacks and earned All-Pro honors at an unprecedented two positions (DE and LB) in the same season. Despite a borderline legendary performance, he was still left playing second banana in his own division.
A Super Bowl 50 MVP award and a second First Team All-Pro season made the Denver Broncos’ Von Miller a ubiquitous figure dancing to Justin Bieber in Madden ads and paving roads in Old Spice commercials. Miller was the one drawing headlines for threatening to sit out the season in a contract dispute. Miller was the one staking his claim as the league’s top defender by signing a pact with the Broncos that made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.
He’s lived up to the hype, too. The Broncos linebacker currently leads the league in sacks while piloting a defense that constantly has to cover an ineffective offense.
Mack, meanwhile, had all the bonafides, but a fraction of the name recognition. Some of that is his own doing. He has shied away from any discussion of an upcoming contract extension. He’s reportedly turned down endorsement deals and guest spots alongside Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson on HBO.
But what Mack has accomplished on the field has eclipsed another typically great season from Miller, and the AFC West has turned into the NFL’s glowing beacon for edge rushing talent. The Raiders linebacker isn’t anonymous by any means, but he’s not the household name defensive players like Miller and J.J. Watt are. If he keeps playing like he has since 2015, there’s no way that will last much longer.
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