This list is in my opinion who should
be considered for the Defensive Player of the Year Award. I have chosen six players for this award. While using each player's statistics along
with some Next Gen Stats I will plead a case for each one of these individual
players to win the DPOY award. Remember these
picks are my opinions, while there may be a few that are also favorites by the
NFL, there are also a couple of players I believe deserve recognition for their
significant exertion all season long.
6) NIK BONITTO- DENVER BRONCOS
Now
let me be 100% clean and clear in telling you all that if you don’t know I am a
Broncos fan, and I have been my entire life; however, this is in no way a biased
pick. Let me add context before you
think I am crazy or partial by putting Bonitto in my top six picks. Nik Bonitto is now in his third season,
drafted out of Oklahoma as the 64th pick in the second round of the
2022 NFL draft. Upon adding Bonitto plus
some other edge rushers, the Broncos decided to move on from the likes of Bradley
Chubb & Von Miller. In his first two
seasons, he certainly showed some flashes that he may end up being a special
player, but now in year three, it is suddenly coming to fruition. Through 13 games this season Bonitto has
recorded 25 SOLO, 11 AST, 36 TOT, 11 SACKS, 13 TFL, 3 PD, 1 FF, 1 INT & 1
TD. This past Monday Night in a home
game against the Cleveland Browns Bonitto managed to record a sack, an interception,
a tackle, 2 PD, and a TD. The third-year
pro is making franchise history for the Broncos, becoming only the second
player in their building to account for 10 or more sacks with an interception
for a TD, which ties ex-Bronco Von Miller.
Nik also tied Millers' record for six straight games with a sack. Though
in all honesty, he should be tied for another NFL record for consecutive games
with a sack. Let me elaborate further,
in week 9 against the Baltimore Ravens, Bonitto had a sack on Lamar Jackson though
in a weird twist, they decided that this 8-yard loss from the shotgun formation
would be recorded as a tackle for loss instead of a sack. Had they accredited Bonitto with the sack he
would have been tied for the all-time NFL record, 11 consecutive games with a
sack (Chris Jones- KC DL holds the record).
His numbers aren’t too far off from players like T.J. Watt or even Myles
Garrett, with more sacks than either of those two and currently only a half-sack
behind the league leader. However, it is
hard to envision that a non-household name like Nik Bonitto would accumulate
more votes than those guys.
5) ZAIRE FRANKLIN- INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
Colts
linebacker Zaire Franklin is often another player who gets overshadowed. There are tons of talented players across the
NFL, but not tons of consistently productive players, at least not at the level
of Indy’s beastly tackling machine.
Franklin has already accrued 135 combined tackles this season, 10 more
than the next player who ironically enough is also a Colt, Safety Nick Cross. Franklin’s tackles are also 14 more than any
non-Colt player, which shows how good this man is at bringing down the opposing
team's playmakers. This season he is on
pace to beat his tackling record that he continues breaking; Zaire ended the
2022 season with 166 total tackles and broke that when he recorded 179 last year.
He owns the Indianapolis Colt’s all-time
single-season tackling record since breaking Shaquille Leonard’s in 2022. Zaire’s numbers for this year stand at 74
SOLO, 61 AST, 135 TOT, 2.5 SACKS, 4 TFL, 4 PD, 1 INT, 3 FF. This past weekend he had yet another big
outing in accounting for his 7th double-digit tackling performance
with 12 tackles, 10 of which were solo, 1.5 sacks, plus a forced fumble. I believe much like Nik Bonitto, that Zaire
Franklin will also probably be overlooked in the DPOY race, but I am happy at
the very least to be able to bring his incredible play to light for others to
see.
4) ANDREW VAN GINKEL- MINNESOTA VIKINGS
The Vikings
have a dog in Van Ginkel plain and simple.
Vikings’ DC Brain Flores knows he’s got one of the best and most versatile
defensive players leaguewide. Most may
not know this, but Van Ginkel had begun playing football as a quarterback in
high school, along with snaps as a wideout, plus on defense as both a safety
and the position he continues to play today, linebacker. Van Ginkel made history earlier this season,
becoming just the third player in the NFL to have 8 or more sacks with multiple
pick-sixes in a season (Terrell Suggs in 08, Jason Taylor in 06). He is only the 10th player in
Vikings franchise history with two pick-sixes in a season while being the first
to do so since 2012 when their safety Harrison Smith had a pick-six. After week 13 wrapped up Van Ginkel now has
the third most solo tackles, combined tackles, and QB hits in his career in a
single season and he is on pace to have the best statistical year of his career. Minnesota has five games remaining for him to
tack on more production to his 41 SOLO, 18 AST, 59 TOT, 9 SACKS, 15 TFL, 4 PD, 2
INT, 2 TD, 1 FF. The linebacker also completed
something unique this year by having his two interceptions for touchdowns come
against both New York teams.
3) PATRICK SURTAIN II- DENVER BRONCOS
I believe
it is vividly clear that Pat Surtain is the best cornerback in the league—at
least he has been this year. Surtain is
already being compared to some of the greatest cornerbacks the Denver Broncos
history has ever seen, like Champ Bailey, Chris Harris Jr., Aqib Talib, and Dre
Bly. Denver selected Pat aka PS2 in the first
round of the 2021 draft out of Alabama.
The Broncos solidified their stance on PS2 in the offseason when they made
him the highest-paid corner in the league, opting to sign him to a four-year $96
million extension that guarantees him at least $77.5 million (most guaranteed
money for a cornerback in NFL history). Now
unlike linebackers, edge rushers, defensive linemen, and the safety position,
corners don’t usually rack up huge numbers.
They generally won’t produce the most tackles or sacks, sometimes they
may not even have a lot of interceptions, but that’s okay. The reason is that true number one corners,
like Surtain get judged from the production they allow from the men lining up adjacent
to them.
When you put a top receiving
threat out against your top defensive back, leave him out on an island with the
knowledge that he won’t give up a massive yardage outing or scoring, that’s
when you know you got something truly special.
This is exactly what the Broncos know to be true each week since they
brought PS2 to Denver. Surtain has allowed
just 202 total yards (the fewest of any CB), the lowest passer rating when
targeted (47.6), lowest EPA/target (minus-0.68) among all corners leaguewide on
at least 250 coverage snaps. Pat has shadowed
wideouts D.K. Metcalf, Davante Adams, Mike Evans, Garrett Wilson, DeAndre
Hopkins, plus Raider’s rookie tight end Brock Bowers this season. According to Next Gen Stats, he has allowed 15
receptions for 148 yards on 198 routes run against him by opponents' top wideouts. Surtain also has 128 yards on three
interceptions this year with 1 touchdown, two of the three picks came on press
coverage plays (only CB with multiple INTs in press). Through 13 weeks of the season, PS2 holds the
third-best odds for DPOY (+1700).
2) XAVIER MCKINNEY- GREEN BAY PACKERS
If
you somehow happen to be a New York Giants fan you may want to skip this
one. Then again if you are a Giants fan
you already know McKinney’s been balling out, I mean why would you continue to
watch New York continue to fall apart like they’ve been doing all year? McKinney moved on to greener pastures when
the Giants chose to move on without his services, yet another questionable move
by a team residing in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Packers' safety has mostly been pacing
the NFL in interceptions since the first game of the year, now he’s tied for
the league lead with Detroit Lions Safety Kirby Joseph. McKinney is a big part of why the Packers' defense
is a top-five team in takeaways through week 13. Xavier has recorded 42 SOLOS, 21 ASSISTS, 63
COMBINED TACKLES, 7 INT for 111 YARDS, 2 TACKLES FOR LOSS, 1 SACK, 9 PASSES DEFENDED. McKinney is having his best season as a pro
while the Green Bay defensive back is now one of the top five favorites to
bring home the DPOY honors with +1600 odds.
1)T.J. WATT- PITTSBURGH STEELERS
Already
a four-time finalist for the DPOY award (2019-2021, 2023), T.J. Watt is no
stranger to hearing his name compared to some of the very best defensive
players in the business. J.J. Watt, T.J.’s
older brother, who had won the award three times in his career believes that
T.J. has been previously snubbed at least once. However, T.J. did bring home this prestigious
trophy when he tied long-time New York Giants Michael Strahan’s all-time sack
record (22.5) in 2021. T.J. isn’t just
one of the anchors on this Pittsburgh Steelers defense but is also the heart and
soul of their team! Watt constantly displays
the work ethic, attitude, and presence of a professional. He helps his team rise to the next level on Sundays
with his gameplay, study habits, and overall football knowledge. Watt leads all NFL players this season in
forced fumbles, while collectively pacing the league in that category over the
last two seasons. This season T.J. has 31
SOLO, 12 AST, 43 TOT, 9.5 SK, 16 TFL, 3 PD, 5 FF. He is currently being favored to win this
award with -220 odds. How he acts,
plays, helps teammates, and holds himself accountable is a testament that
constitutes how professional athletes should be in the sports world.
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