On Tuesday we covered Attacker of the Year bet for you to keep an eye onand now we will turn our attention to the defensive side of football.
Unlike some other NFL awards, this is a well-placed award. Since 2010, we’ve seen corners, safety, full-backs, EDGEs and defensive handling all take home the accolades. That’s both interesting, since we can dig deeper to find some gems, and a bit more difficult, since we can’t focus on one area of impact.
There was definitely one run of the defensive lines victorious DPOY; seven of the 10 winners ended up in the trenches, and while last year’s winner TJ Watt was technically an outside midfielder, his role was to rush the passer.
Aaron Donald has taken home three Defensive Player honors since 2017 and is one of the favorites to win in 2022.
NFL Defensive Player of the Year Odds
The top of the table is headlined by a pair of EDGE’s, including last season’s winners. Repeated wins have become the norm of late. JJ Watt and Aaron Donald have accounted for six of the 10 most recent winners.
Current Top 15, along with their odds and sportsbook give us the best odds:
- Myles Garrett (+700 DK)
- TJ Watt (+800 FD)
- Aaron Donald (+900 FD)
- Micah Parsons (+1000 DK)
- Nick Bosa (+1500 DK)
- Joey Bosa (+2500 FD)
- Darius Leonard (+3000 DK)
- Maxx Crosby (+3000 FD)
- Danielle Hunter (+3500 FD)
- Khalil Mack (+3500 FD)
- Derwin James (+3500 DK)
- Chase Young (+3500 FD)
- Rashan Gary (+4000 DK)
- Von Miller (+4000 FD)
- Bradley Chubb (+5000 FD)
It’s an extensive list, but I’ve found two of my favorites for the 2022 season.
Micah Parsons +1000
Parsons was everything and more to the Dallas Cowboys in Year One. culminating in the Defensive Rookie of the Year award, Parsons ended the season with 84 tackles, 13.0 tackles, 20 tackles on loss and three clumsy catches.
The TFL figure ranks right behind TJ Watt and Nick Bosa, who each have 21, and his total layoffs are the sixth-highest in the NFL.
Parsons is quickly becoming a defensive force for the Cowboys, and the impact he has across the field could go a long way toward winning Defensive Player of the Year.
Parsons received 10% of the vote for DPOY last season, finished in second place after Watt. The sandwich between Watt and Donald in just his first season is truly impressive, and the logical next step is for him to bring home victory.
Dallas’ defense will likely need to raise the bar this season with some of the losses the Cowboys have taken on offense. Parsons put up the numbers leading up to that fee, and if the numbers follow, he’s a great bettor to win DPOY.
Rashan Gary +4000
We’re trying to find value with a second pick in this futures market, finding the Green Bay EDGE Rashan Gary at +4000.
The Packers defense has received a lot of buzz this season, being considered the top unit of the league. CB Jaire Alexander, EDGE Preston Smith, S Adrian Amos and LB De’Vondre Campbell are just a few notable names that have hopes of building a strong 2021.
Surrounded by talent, Gary is well positioned to increase numbers and finds himself in competition for this award at the end of the season. Pro Football Focus has Gary as their man fifth-place EDGE defender from last season, and all we’ve seen from Gary’s career to this point is constant growth.
His total number of layoffs increased from 2.0 to 5.0 to 9.5 last season. Gary will need a giant leap in the sack field to be a legitimate pick for this award, but that’s what we predicted and hoped for when we loaded up a +4000 ticket.
With players all around him, the fourth-year defender will get his share in 1-on-1 matches, and with Alexander and Amos eliminating a quarterback’s top pick, Gary could have a little more time to hit QB.
Gary is in the final year of his rookie contract, so there’s no shortage of motivation to put his energy into a big season. I like this +4000 value for an impact defender on what could be one of the top NFL teams.
