The most prestigious award in professional football is Most Valuable Player. It usually features the sport’s best player in an individual campaign (often a quarterback) and tells a concise, cogent story about a respective regular season. As a result, I don’t even consider it a debate.
But, to me, even at lesser acclaim, the Defensive Player of the Year award comes in a very close second. Over the years, we’ve seen all-time wrecking balls like Lawrence Taylor, J.J. Watt, and the late Reggie White build their (terrifying) reputations with a host of DPOY honors. In a sport where offense and quarterbacks come first, these are the players who usually counteract the offensive fireworks. And then some.
In 2022, we’ve got quite the horse race for Defensive Player of the Year at the approximate midseason mark. As most offenses scramble (and fail) to adjust to increasing athleticism on the edge and on the interior, individual defenders, particularly pass rushers, might be shining more than ever. For a good reason, the top contenders for this year’s DPOY (from a Swiss Army Knife in Dallas to an all-time great in Buffalo) are centerpieces on some measure of postseason contenders.
Let’s break down the stars vying for Defensive Player of the Year at the halfway point and see who stands on top of the mountain.
All odds to win DPOY via BetMGM