2025-26 NFL Defensive Player of the Year Odds Tracker

• Get the current odds to win the NFL’s 2025-26 Defensive Player of the Year award
• Micah Parsons is the favorite to win NFL DPOY
• Track how the DPOY odds change throughout the 2025-26 NFL season

The AP has handed out a Defensive Player of the Year award every year since 1971. I have been tracking the 2025-26 NFL DPOY odds since they opened and will continue to do so all season.

The DPOY odds table below surfaces up the best odds for each player available in your region, while also letting you compare that to the opening line and to the other sportsbooks, if you wish. I average the odds from multiple sportsbooks and track the movement in the graphs below, removing the influence of money and providing you with each defender’s true odds of winning the award.

NFL DPOY Odds for Top Contenders

The current top NFL DPOY contenders are as follows:

1. Micah Parsons (+395 consensus odds)
2. Myles Garrett (+525)
3. Will Anderson Jr (+900)
4. Nick Bosa (+925)
5. Aidan Hutchinson (+1050)

Micah Parsons currently has the best odds to win NFL DPOY at +440. If you bet $20 on Parsons to take home the award, you would stand to win $88 and return $108. Based on those odds, Parsons has an 18.5% chance to win the award.

Parsons took back over as the favorite after recording a half-sack against the Commanders and helping limit the Washington offense to just 18 points. The new Packers defender has recorded 1.5 sacks through the first two weeks and has helped Green Bay’s defense look great against two good offenses.

Myles Garrett was the favorite entering Week 2, but his 1.5 sacks against the Ravens were softened by the defense allowing 41 points. Garrett;s consensus odds did improve, though, going from +633 to +525. Parsons just saw bigger improvement.

Outside of Micah Parsons, the biggest risers in the NFL DPOY odds following Week 2 were:

• Nik Bonitto: in spite of not recording a sack in Week 2, Bonitto was one of the few bright spots for the Broncos defense against the Colts. The edge-rusher managed to total five pressures and a 22.2 “win percentage,” according to PFF – he actually has the best win rate of all edge players with more than eight pass-rush snaps this season. This resulted in his odds improving from +3233 to +2500

And the players who saw their DPOY odds fall significantly were:

• TJ Watt: the Steelers star defender has yet to record a sack through two games, has only totaled three QB pressures, and his defense has given up a combined 65 points to offenses who failed to post more than 13 points in their other respective games this season. As a result, Watt’s DPOY odds have faded from +1033 to +1550 after Week 2.
• Patrick Surtain II: the reigning Defensive Player of the Year saw his current odds fade from +3100 to +5750 after having a tough week defending all Indianapolis’ crossing routes.

*The NFL DPOY odds in the table above are updated every 1-2 hours from the best sportsbooks in the US, including DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, and Caesars. If you’re not already signed up with DraftKings, be sure you claim the best DraftKings promo code before registering.

Be sure to bookmark this page and keep checking back in with Sports Betting Dime for the latest NFL DPOY odds and line movement!

Track Odds to Win NFL DPOY

Top 5 Top 10 Top 25 25 to 50 51 & Up

Three players opened as the co-favorites to win the 2025-26 NFL DPOY. TJ Watt, who was the 2021-22 DPOY, Myles Garrett, the 2023-24 DPOY, and Aidan Hutchinson, who was favored to win last year’s NFL DPOY prior to getting injured, all opened with +750 odds to win the award.

Aidan Hutchinson made the first move to become the lone favorite, as both Watt and Garrett (had requested a trade) saw their odds fade slightly after opening, with Hutchinson improving slightly to +700. Myles Garrett took over as the new favorite after he signed his new deal with Cleveland, we saw Micah Parsons become the new favorite shortly after the NFL Draft. Parsons’ odds even improved after being traded to the Packers.

Here are some notes on the NFL DPOY odds movement:

• [September 16] Parsons was dominant again in Week 2 and took back over as the favorite to win DPOY.
• [September 9] With Micah Parsons limited in Week 1, and Myles Garrett recording two sacks against the Bengals, Garrett became the favorite to win DPOY again.
• [August 29] After being traded to the Packers, Parsons’ odds improved from +700 to +650.
• [May 20] Micah Parsons overtook Myles Garrett as the favorite to win NFL DPOY shortly after the NFL Draft. The Cowboys were seen as having a good draft, likely helping Parsons’ case for DPOY.
• [March 12] After Myles Garrett signed his record-breaking contract extension with the Browns, he became the new favorite to win NFL DPOY.
• [March 7] The Raiders acquisition of Geno Smith via trade with the Seahawks resulted in Maxx Crosby’s NFL DPOY odds improving from +1600 to +1100 at ESPN Bet. If this seems weird to you, think about the past DPOY winners – they don’t typically come from bad teams. Smith under center likely makes the Raiders more competitive on offense, meaning their defense may not be put in as many bad situations as they have been over the past couple of seasons.
• [February 15] Some early money coming in on NFL DPOY has resulted in Aidan Hutchinson becoming the lone favorite with +700 odds. TJ Watt’s odds did not change, but Myles Garrett’s odds faded slightly from +750 to +800 amid his request to be traded from the Browns.
• [February 7] All of Myles Garrett, TJ Watt, and Aidan Hutchinson opened as the co-favorites to win 2025-26 NFL DPOY. Each player was given +750 odds at opening.

Looking for the latest NFL odds? – Get current spreads, totals, and moneyline odds for all upcoming games this week here.

Top Contenders by Position

Edge IDL ILB DB

Despite seeing so many edge players listed with short odds to win the award, only five true edge players have won DPOY in the last 16 years: Myles Garrett (2023), Nick Bosa (2022), TJ Watt (2021), Khalil Mack (2016), and Terrell Suggs (2011).

Odds for Past Winners

Six different players have won NFL DPOY over the last six seasons. This is notable since Aaron Donald and JJ Watt were so dominant prior.

Historical DPOY Winners

The idea that the Defensive Player of the Year is generally the league-leader in sacks is a common misconception. Sacks are certainly seen as a sexy stat and play a role in the voting. But the sack king has only won the award four times in the last 12 seasons: Nick Bosa in 2022, TJ Watt in 2021, Aaron Donald in 2018, and JJ Watt in 2015.

Trey Hendrickson led the league in sacks last season but did not win the award. TJ Watt racked up the most sacks in 2023 and 2020 as well, but did not win DPOY for either. Shaquil Barrett led the NFL in sacks in 2019, Chandler Jones led the way in 2017, Vic Beasley Jr in 2016, Justin Houston in 2014, and Robert Mathis in 2013. Yet, none of them took home DPOY honors.

 DPOY Winners by Position

Betting Strategy

The NFL DPOY is the player award sportsbooks have the most trouble opening lines for every season. This is because it is the most unpredictable award in the league. Outside of the lengthy stretch where it was either Aaron Donald or JJ Watt winning the award, we are consistently seeing players who open outside of the top ten contenders win DPOY.

With that in mind, I believe the best betting strategy is to find some defenders with longer odds at opening who:

1. Play on a defense you expect to be a top ten unit,
2. Are the most recognizable name on their respective defense
3. Don’t have a history of missing games due to injuries, and
4. Are either seen as a shutdown corner, pass-rushing specialist, or a linebacker who racks up a lot of tackles

Since the AP votes on this award, you can often follow the trending names being discussed. I would also advise against chasing the favorites early in the season. The odds are so volatile early on in the season and you rarely see the favorite through the first couple of weeks actually go on to win the award. Once we reach the second half of the season, we typically have a good idea of who the top contenders will be the rest of the way.

Archived DPOY odds:

• 2024
• 2023
• 2022
• 2021
• 2020
• 2019