With the 2024 NFL season just a little more than a month away, our team at Pickswise is diving headlong into its coverage for upcoming campaign. Our analysis and projections for the NFL futures market continue with a look at the Defensive Player of the Year Award (DPOY).
A season ago, the top defensive honors went to Cleveland Browns DE Myles Garrett. He was preceded on the winners list by 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa, T.J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Aaron Donald of the Los Angeles Rams. This is an award that is typically awarded to the favorites, but there is some volatility in the market this year given how there could be some voter fatigue with some of the favorites near the top of the odds board. Let’s take a look at the DPOY odds and my best bets to be made for 2024 NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
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Odds courtesy of Bet365 and available at time of publishing.
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While this Detroit Lions defense has some question marks in the secondary, the defensive line has a chance to be one of the most improved units in football, led by Aidan Hutchinson. One reason why there’s room to be optimistic about the Lions’ front seven and Hutchinson’s chances at this award as a whole is that he’s been getting better and better with each season. The Michigan product recorded a career-high 11.5 sacks in 2023 to go along with the league lead in hurries (29), the second-most pressures in the NFL (25) and a new career-high in tackles for loss (14). Hutchinson was elite at creating havoc and he should generate plenty more in what projects to be his best season yet.
Given that the Lions’ defense has room for growth, if Detroit does improve on that side of the ball this season, there’s little doubt that its franchise cornerstone will be given the lion’s share of the credit. Additionally, what helps our chances of Hutchinson grabbing this award is that he has never missed a single game in his 2 NFL seasons to this point. Barring an injury for the 24-year-old, Hutchinson is going to be on the field and give himself every opportunity to rack up plenty of big numbers as part of a career-best season for a Super Bowl contender.
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