Defensive End Khalil Mack
ALAMEDA, Calif. – Oakland Raiders DE Khalil Mack was named the Pro Football Writers of America's Defensive Player of the Year, the PFWA announced Wednesday. Mack was selected in voting conducted by the Professional Football Writers of America.
This season, Mack finished with 77 tackles (56 solo), 11 sacks, five forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, one interception and four passes defensed on the way to earning his second consecutive Pro Bowl selection. Mack was also named to the Associated Press All-Pro Team and the PFWA All-NFL Team this year.
The third-year pro turned in another outstanding campaign, dominating opposing offenses in both the run and passing game. He was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Month in November after posting 13 tackles, four sacks, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, one interception and two passes defensed, helping the Raiders go 3-0 in November. He also earned two AFC Defensive Player of the Week Awards (Week 9 vs. Denver and Week 12 vs. Carolina), while becoming the first player since 2009 to record a sack, interception returned for a touchdown, forced fumble and fumble recovery in the same game when he accomplished the feat in Week 12 against the Carolina Panthers.
ABOUT THE PFWA: The Professional Football Writers of America (PFWA) is the official voice of pro football writers, promoting and fighting for access to NFL personnel to best serve the public. The PFWA is made up of accredited writers who cover the NFL and the 32 teams daily. Jeff Legwold, who covers the Denver Broncos for ESPN.com, is the organization's president for 2015-17, while Bleacher Report national columnist Dan Pompei is the PFWA's first vice-president and ESPN's Jim Trotter is the organization's second vice-president. Follow the PFWA at ProFootballWriters.org and on Twitter at @PFWAwriters.
