Bob Leverone/Associated Press

Josh Norman isn't exactly a household name yet.

Your dad might know him as that fellow who picked off "that crab leg kid" a few weeks ago, but the Carolina Panthers cornerback's name remains just out of reach of most NFL fans.

But there are people who know Norman, 27, deeply, viscerally—or at least have watched enough of his tape to know they're better off doing literally anything but hurling a football within 10 feet of him.

Norman's swift rise from obscurity to guy who will intercept your pass and drink your milkshake has placed him front and center on the radars of offensive coordinators across the NFL.

They've seen his 2015 numbers—four picks in seven games, two of them going the other way for pick-sixes—and most have decided to cut their losses instead of dancing with the devil.

And that makes Norman sad.

In an interview with the Charlotte Observer's Jonathan Jones after Sunday's win over the Philadelphia Eagles, Norman said he misses offenses throwing his way.

"I kind of do [miss being thrown to]," Norman said. "I'm not going to lie. At first I was like, man, but now I kind of do. I want to be a part of the game. Now it's trying to find other ways."

To Norman's point, business has been very, very slow on Norman's swatch of the field. In the last two weeks, quarterbacks have tried to throw at a Norman-guarded receiver exactly one time (not counting wide receiver screens).

This lone attempt was a Sam Bradford pass to Zach Ertz on Sunday. Norman swatted it away, stopping what otherwise would've been a touchdown in the dying moments of the second quarter.

Before that, the Seahawks gave Norman a wide berth in Week 6, with Russell Wilson refraining from taking a single shot his way.

So Carolina's burgeoning star waits and watches. Someone will try him, eventually.

But until they do, he's a hitter on a hot streak—Daniel Murphy raking run after run on the Chicago Cubs. And smart hurlers will continue to pitch around him.





Dan is on Twitter. The saddest thing is all of the pony riding we've missed out on thanks to this embargo.