Stephon Gilmore’s excellence in 2019 ended a streak of five straight years seeing a defensive lineman win the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award. In fact, the Patriots stud cornerback was the first DB to claim the distinction since Troy Polamalu was honored back in 2010.

It’s possible we could see another defensive back hoist the hardware in 2020, but is it likely?

A quick peek at this year’s NFL Defensive Player of the Year odds highlights a bevy of pass rushers — notably, two sets of brothers. After soaking in the pricing, I’ll assess the top contenders and throw out a few potential sleepers.

NFL Defensive Player of the Year Odds By Mitch Reames. Aaron Donald 11/2. Khalil Mack 11/2. Jalen Ramsey 14/1. Luke Kuechley 22/1.

• Next on the list of DPOY favorites are edge rushers Khalil Mack, Nick Bosa and T.J.
• NFL Specials Betting Odds. View all available outright and match odds, plus get news, tips, free bets and money-back offers. All you need to bet.
• Several organizations give out NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards that are listed in the NFL Record and Fact Book and Total Football II: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League.The Associated Press (AP) has been giving the award since 1972; Pro Football Writers of America/Pro Football Weekly since 1970; and Sporting News has announced winners since 2008.
• Who is the favorite to win the NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award? Rams defensive lineman.

After taking a closer look at the numbers, I’m a little perplexed that the best NFL sportsbooks online installed Aaron Donald as the betting favorite in 2020. Yes, I’m fully away the Rams DT won this award in 2017 and 2018, and there’s no question he’s among the best (if not the best) defenders in all of football.

However, Donald is embarking on the back end of his career. There are younger and fresher bodies out there who are — quite frankly — more productive on the stat sheet.

I’ll introduce a few of them now.

Now is the time that three-time NFL Defensive POY winner J.J. Watt officially passes the torch over to his brother. T.J. Watt is no longer just J.J.’s little brother — he has quickly evolved into arguably the most complete defender in the league.

After forcing six fumbles and notching 13 sacks in 2018, T.J. led the NFL with eight forced fumbles and racked up 14.5 sacks last season. Playing alongside a stellar supporting cast in Pittsburgh, look for the younger Watt to continue balling out.

Speaking of a dude stepping out of his older brother’s shadow, Nick Bosa was rock-solid for San Francisco in 2019 en route to capturing the DROY award. The 22-year-old Ohio State product set a rookie record for total pressures and played his best in the biggest moments. Nine regular-season sacks may not stand out, but Nick tacked on four more during postseason play.

We know about Aaron Donald and J.J. Watt, and Khalil Mack is looking for a bounce-back year in Chicago. Nevertheless, it’s time to start talking about Chandler Jones when you discuss the truly elite pass rushers in this sport.

Tallying 19 sacks in 2019 is seriously impressive, but how about the fact that Chandler has totaled 72.5 sacks since 2015? It’s by far the most in the NFL during that span. That’s an average of 14.5 sacks per year, plus he was tied with T.J. Watt for the league lead with eight forced fumbles.

Potential Sleepers

Now for the NFL Defensive Player of the Year sleepers. Right off the bat, the idea that we can latch onto Vikings DE Danielle Hunter at +2500 screams out value. At just 25 years old, the former LSU Tiger has recorded back-to-back seasons of accumulating 14.5 sacks.

Of the 14 NFL players who registered more than 10 sacks last season, Hunter was the only one to accrue at least 70 tackles.

If attacking Danielle Hunter’s NFL Defensive Player of the Year odds screams out value, snagging Bucs linebacker Shaquil Barrett at +3300 is a green-light special.

Barrett led the NFL with 19.5 sacks in 2019, he roams around and makes plays all over the field, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers could win Super Bowl 55. So yeah, I’m all about taking a flyer on Shaq when it comes to betting on the NFL DPOY.

A neck injury derailed Leighton Vander Esch’s second season in Dallas, but let’s not forget how terrific this kid was as a rookie in 2018. The Cowboys middle linebacker was responsible for 140 tackles, seven pass deflections, and two interceptions, and he did all of that while starting just 11 games.

First Vander Esch “Wally Pipped” Sean Lee, and now the NFL will get to see he’s one of the premium defenders in the league.

I’ll be highlighting a handful of these individuals in concentrated blogs, examining whether or not they warrant an NFL Defensive POY bet. Ultimately, I’ll take everything into account and deliver a 2020 NFL Defensive Player of the Year prediction.

You can follow the entire process right here.

Vegas Odds Nfl Defensive Player Of The Year

Surely you have a hunch on who’s going to win the NFL MVP. Maybe you want to gamble on Kevin Stefanski taking home the Coach of the Year honors.

In any case, time is running out to bet on the individual awards.

With less than a month remaining in the regular season, this could be your last opportunity to grab hold of some favorable odds.

Check out the updated odds and my latest NFL awards predictions.

Boy am I happy I latched onto Patrick Mahomes winning the NFL MVP award way back in May. That +600 price tag has sailed far, far away, to a land that no longer exists. On the heels of a video-game-like 31/2 TD/INT ratio, the Chiefs QB has been virtually unstoppable.

He’s leading the league in passing yards by a mile, he’s tops in QBR, and his team is tied for the best record in football.

Patrick’s most definitely my pick to win, although a bet on A-Rod (+275) is certainly worth a look. Sporting a league-high 36 touchdown passes, Rodgers is the only man who can even sniff Mahomes’ territory.

• Patrick Mahomes

NFL Defensive Player of the Year Odds and Prediction

I swear this blog wasn’t designed for me to toot my own horn. At the same time, it’s worth noting that when I picked T.J. Watt to win the 2020 NFL DPOY, J.J.’s little brother was hanging out at +1100.

Divide that by 10 at that’s the current price you’ll get for the league’s most dominant defender.

Aaron Donald and Myles Garrett are worthy of consideration, and Xavien Howard has been lights out for an upstart Dolphins defense. With that being said, it’ll take monumental efforts on their behalf to chase down the Steelers outside linebacker.

As great as these other candidates have played, Watt has simply been better.

• TJ Watt

NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Odds and Prediction

This is a two-horse race that should be a lot tighter than what the current odds are portraying. Herbert has a built-in edge simply because he’s a quarterback, but what happens if the Chargers finish 4-12 and the Vikings make the playoffs?

Save for a dismal performance against a Bill Belichick-coached defense, Justin has fully-demonstrated that he’s going to be a star in this league. Averaging north of 293 passing yards per game, his arm strength and athleticism has been on full display. Nevertheless, the Bolts 22-year-old signal-caller ranks 18^th in QBR and 19^th in Passer Rating.

Flip the coin and Justin Jefferson has been terrorizing DBs all season long and putting his name in the same conversations as Randy Moss.

The LSU product is among the highest-graded players in all football (according to PFF) and he’s a major reason why Minnesota still has a fighting chance.

By all accounts, +225 appears to be a fairly substantial price.

• Justin Jefferson

NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Odds and Prediction

Patrick Queen has come on strong. Antoine Winfield has done a nice job anchoring the back-end of the Bucs defense. The two DBs from the University of Utah are equally deserving of a ton of praise, but the 2020 DROY Award looks to be a battle between Chase Young and Jeremy Chinn.

The 2^nd overall pick versus the player drafted at the tail end of the second round (64th overall).

Nfl Defensive Poy

Young is a difference-maker and a guy capable of penetrating the line of scrimmage, but let’ look at performances over the last five weeks.

Chase has contributed a total of 10 tackles and two sacks.

On the other hand, the Panthers do-it-all safety racked up 13 tackles and scored two touchdowns during a week 12 game in Minnesota. Chinn won the NFC’s Defensive Rookie of the Month in October and again in November. There’s no reason he shouldn’t win the award that culminates the year.

• Jeremy Chinn

NFL Comeback Player of the Year Odds and Prediction

There’s no real reason to dive deeply into who will win the NFL Comeback Player of the Year award. Go ahead and pencil Alex Smith in. The league may as well get a head start on engraving the hardware.

Big Ben is going to finish the season with better numbers, and Pittsburgh is going to end the year with a much better record than Washington. However, in November of 2018, it didn’t look like Alex Smith was ever going to walk again, much less play quarterback in the National Football League.

Well, not only is Alex playing, but he’s leading Washington to a potential NFC East title.

• Alex Smith

NFL Coach of the Year Odds and Prediction

Mike Tomlin might be the favorite according to the top betting sites, but most people “in the know” expected the Steelers to be among the best teams in football. This doesn’t take away from the masterful job Tomlin has done, especially considering all of the scheduling curveballs the league has thrown at Pittsburgh.

Kevin Stefanski needs to be extolled for turning the tide in Cleveland and is a great bet to take this award home. And then there’s Brian Flores.

The coach in Miami was staring at a win total of six before the year began, yet here the Phins are sitting pretty at 8-4. Teetering between Ryan Fitzpatrick and Tua Tagovailoa, Flores has managed his offense and allowed his defense and special teams to shine.

In the event that the Dolphins stamp their ticket to the postseason, the Bill Belichick disciple should be recognized.

• Brian Flores