Ottawa Redblacks’ defensive linesman Lorenzo Mauldin has been named the Canadian Football League’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player for 2022.
In what was a breakout season for the first year Redblack, Mauldin wreaked havoc on opposing offences. The 30-year-old helped anchor an Ottawa defence that recorded 47 sacks on the year, the second-most by any team in the league.
Mauldin played in all 18 games for the Redblacks and was responsible for a league-leading 17 sacks, topping his previous career-best of three. The third-year defensive lineman also tallied 43 tackles and forced two fumbles on the year.
One of Mualdin’s most dominant performances of the season came during Ottawa’s Week 17 matchup with the BC Lions. It was a game that saw Mauldin bully his way into the Lions’ backfield for a three-sack outing.
Mauldin was one of just five players with three sacks in a single game this season and the performance against BC marked the fifth time this year that he would record a multi-sack performance.
Calgary Stampeders’ defensive lineman Shawn Lemon finished as the runner-up to Mauldin for the award. Lemon was second in the league to only Mauldin with 14 sacks through the regular season.
