New Orleans Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore was named the 2017 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year at the NFL Honors on Saturday moments after teammate Alvin Kamara earned the offensive award. 

According to NFL.com's David Ely, Lattimore garnered 45 out of 50 first-place votes. Buffalo Bills cornerback Tre'Davious White nabbed four, while San Francisco 49ers linebacker Reuben Foster received one. 

The Saints selected Lattimore 11th overall out of Ohio State, and he was instantly penciled in as the No. 1 corner for a team coming off a league-worst 273.8 passing yards per game in 2016. 

The 21-year-old didn't single-handedly correct those woes, but he boosted the secondary in a big way. 

By the end of the regular season, the Saints ranked 15th in pass defense (224.8 passing yards per game) and tied for 12th with 22 touchdowns allowed through the air. 

Over the course of 13 appearances—he missed three games because of an ankle injury and a concussion—Lattimore recorded five interceptions and 18 pass breakups en route to a Pro Bowl nod. 

"It's hard to predict a rookie's growth, but he's got exceptional ball skills, a lot of confidence," Saints head coach Sean Payton had said in October, according to the Advocate's Joel A. Erickson.

As ESPN.com's Bill Barnwell wrote, Lattimore "looked like one of the best cornerbacks in the league of any experience level" when he was healthy. 

To that end, Barnwell noted that through 16 weeks the Saints had allowed a passer rating of 74.3 with Lattimore on the field and a mark of 97.2 without him. 

"We put a lot on his plate as far as going out there and matching up with these guys," safety Rafael Bush told The MMQB's Jonathan Jones. "For the most part we haven't been giving him much help and he's been holding his own. Once you get a corner like that, it makes it easier for your defense to not have to babysit a guy."

Needless to say, more hardware could be in Lattimore's future if his sensational rookie season was any indication.