DeMeco Ryans, LB, Houston. He finished the year with 150 tackles, the highest total of any rookie defensive player over the past two decades and nearly three times the total of last year's winner, San Diego's Merriman. But here's what I like most about the guy: He had 126 solo tackles and played every snap until he was lifted in the fourth quarter of a Dec. 17 loss at New England. When the Texans stepped to the podium for last year's first pick, they said they would take the best defensive player in the draft. And they did. Only it wasn't Mario Williams, it was Ryans