Colts' Leonard aiming for 40 tackles vs. Giants after Pro Bowl snub

Indianapolis Colts rookie linebacker Darius Leonard is planning on taking out his frustration over being left out of the 2019 Pro Bowl on the New York Giants offense on Sunday.

"He told me he wanted 40 tackles, but I told him it's humanly impossible," Colts Pro Bowl tight end Eric Ebron said, according to Mike Wells of ESPN. "He doesn't care. ... Things like (the Pro Bowl) should really go by statistics rather than names. He's one of the all-time great rookie linebackers statistically in a long time."

Leonard, the 36th overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft, leads the league with 146 combined tackles. He's added seven sacks and has six passes defended, with four forced fumbles and two recoveries.

One of the frontrunners to be named 2018's Defensive Rookie of the Year, Leonard was disappointed to be left out of January's All-Star showcase.

"I was heartbroken at first because I thought I did enough, but it is what it is," Leonard said.

When asked to place how upset he was on a scale from 1-10, Leonard replied, "Twenty."

The 23-year-old's target of 40 tackles would easily shatter the NFL's single-game record of 25 held by Brian Urlacher.

He disagrees with Ebron on how achievable his goal may be.

"Impossible? There is nothing impossible," Leonard said. "If you play a lot of snaps you've just got to get on every play possible."

The product of South Carolina State leads Colts defenders with 90.3 percent of defensive snaps played this season.

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