Week 4 Bama Pro of the Week: CJ Mosley
Each week during the NFL regular season, I'll award one standout Alabama player of the week whose performance boosted his team to victory. The only criteria being his team must win. At the end of the season, I'll name the MVP and hand out a few other awards to recognize the excellence the Alabama Crimson Tide has present in the NFL.
With a league-best 55 (counting Jalen Hurts) active players under contract across 28 franchises, there are plenty of options to choose from. Here's this week's winner:
CJ Mosley is our Week 4 Bama Pro of the Week after racking up 14 tackles, one for a loss and a sack against Derrick Henry and the Tennessee Titans in the New York Jets' first win of the 2021 season.
“He’s like a cheat code,” New York head coach Robert Saleh said after the win. “His mind plays at a different level. He’s playing a different game, and he knew exactly what we needed to get into and he made the right call.”
While Mosley's stats are impressive enough, as the mike backer and leader of his defense, Mosley made an executive decision early in the fourth quarter that ultimately gave the Jets an opportunity to stay in position to pick up the first win of the young season.
Mosley made a check on his defense that put fellow Alabama alumni Quinnen Williams in a position to sack Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill on third down that impressed his first-year, defensive-minded head coach.
“His mind plays at a different level," Saleh said. "He’s playing a different game, and he knew exactly what we needed to get into and he made the right call.”
Just as impressive as Mosley's mind is his body keeping up. At 29, Mosley isn't such a veteran that he should have lost a step, but it's worth noting how Mosley's career has gone over the past few seasons.
In 2019, Mosley signed a free-agent contract with the Jets that made him the highest-paid off-ball linebacker in the NFL. Unfortunately, just two games into his venture with Gang Green, Mosley suffered a season-ending groin injury. Then, in 2020, Mosley opted out of the NFL season due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
To begin the 2021 campaign the way he has is a sigh of relief for Jets fans and the front office that has invested so much into the dynamic linebacker. Now, through four games, Mosley has 37 tackles, with at least 10 total tackles in three games.
Next week, the Jets travel to Atlanta to take on Calvin Ridley and the 1-3 Falcons.
Read More: Best Crimson Tide Performances From NFL Week Four
And now for our honorable mentions:
- Trevon Diggs, Cowboys: Four tackles and two interceptions
- Amari Cooper, Cowboys: Three receptions for 69 yards and a touchdown
- Quinnen Williams, Jets: Seven tackles, one for loss and two sacks
- Derrick Henry, Titans: 33 carries for 157 yards and a touchdown with two receptions for 20 yards
- Jalen Hurts, Eagles: 31-47 passing for 378 yards for two touchdowns with eight rushes for 47 yards
- DeVonta Smith, Eagles: Seven receptions for 122 yards
- Anthony Averett, Ravens: Three tacklesand an interception
- Najee Harris, Steelers: 15 carries for 62 yards and a touchdown with six receptions for 29 yards
- Mac Jones, Patriots: 31-40 passing for 275 yards for two touchdowns and an interception.
Be sure to tune back into tide1009.com each Tuesday to see the Bama Pro of the Week throughout the NFL season. Here's each winner from the 2021 season so far:
Week 1 Bama Pro of the Week: Jalen Hurts
Week 2 Bama Pro of the Week: Derrick Henry
Week 3 Bama Pro of the Week: Trevon Diggs