ES
NFL Predictions 
MLB Predictions 
NBA Predictions 
NHL Predictions 
Soccer Predictions 
Will Anderson Jr. of the Houston Texans is the favorite for NFL Defensive Player of the Year at +450, with T.J. Watt and Aidan Hutchinson next at +550 each. Two weeks into the 2026 season, Buffalo’s Greg Rousseau leads the league with 4 sacks and is priced at +2800.
Defensive Player of the Year odds
The board below is DraftKings’ 2026 award market as ESPN carried it on September 24, 2026, before Week 3. The implied chance is what each price says a player’s chance is, before the sportsbook’s margin is taken out.
| Player | Team | Position | Odds | Implied chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Will Anderson Jr. | Houston Texans | DE | +450 | 18.2% |
| T.J. Watt | Pittsburgh Steelers | LB | +550 | 15.4% |
| Aidan Hutchinson | Detroit Lions | DE | +550 | 15.4% |
| Maxx Crosby | Las Vegas Raiders | DE | +1200 | 7.7% |
| Dallas Turner | Minnesota Vikings | LB | +1300 | 7.1% |
| Nick Bosa | San Francisco 49ers | DE | +2000 | 4.8% |
| Nik Bonitto | Denver Broncos | LB | +2000 | 4.8% |
| Fred Warner | San Francisco 49ers | LB | +2500 | 3.8% |
| Greg Rousseau | Buffalo Bills | LB | +2800 | 3.4% |
| Danielle Hunter | Houston Texans | DE | +3000 | 3.2% |
| Trey Hendrickson | Baltimore Ravens | LB | +3000 | 3.2% |
| Abdul Carter | New York Giants | LB | +3000 | 3.2% |
These 12 names alone add up to 90.3%, and the full market lists 104 players, so the book’s margin is large. A futures bet is worth making only when you rate a player’s chance higher than the price does.
Who is producing through two weeks
| Player | Sacks | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Greg Rousseau | 4.0 | +2800 |
| T.J. Watt | 3.5 | +550 |
| Aidan Hutchinson | 3.0 | +550 |
| Dallas Turner | 3.0 | +1300 |
| Alex Highsmith | 3.0 | not in the top 12 |
Anderson is not among the ten sack leaders ESPN lists, which run down to 2.0, so the favorite’s price is built on expectation. Watt also has an interception, and his teammate Alex Highsmith has 3 sacks, so Pittsburgh has two of the top five pass rushers so far. Four players share the interception lead at two: Julian Love, Devin Lloyd, Jevon Holland and Hezekiah Masses. None of them is in the top 12 on the board.
Recent Defensive Player of the Year winners
| Season | Winner | Team | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Myles Garrett | Cleveland Browns | DE |
| 2024 | Pat Surtain II | Denver Broncos | CB |
| 2023 | Myles Garrett | Cleveland Browns | DE |
| 2022 | Nick Bosa | San Francisco 49ers | DE |
| 2021 | T.J. Watt | Pittsburgh Steelers | LB |
| 2020 | Aaron Donald | Los Angeles Rams | DT |
| 2019 | Stephon Gilmore | New England Patriots | CB |
| 2018 | Aaron Donald | Los Angeles Rams | DT |
| 2017 | Aaron Donald | Los Angeles Rams | DT |
Seven of the last nine winners were pass rushers or interior linemen, and two were cornerbacks: Gilmore in 2019 and Surtain in 2024. Donald won three times and Garrett twice. Watt and Bosa are the two winners from this table on the current top 12.
The season is 17 games long, and Rousseau’s 4 sacks come from two of them. We update this page as the race changes. The offensive award is on our Offensive Player of the Year odds page and the top award on our NFL MVP odds page. Our picks for every Week 3 game are on the NFL predictions page.
