With the 2022 NFL preseason in full swing and the regular season just 27 days away, we have already begun looking toward which rookie will take home a special award: Defensive Rookie of the Year.
This year’s rookies are among some of the most talented prospects in football and they are ready to show it on the field and make their mark in the league.
The first round of the 2022 NFL Draft was loaded with defensive talent and began with a run of five-straight defensive players being selected. It was the first time, since 1991, that the first five picks were all on the defensive side of the ball.
DROY is an award that is often won by defenders who tackle ball-carriers and sack the league’s best signal-callers, and it is often awarded to a first-round pick. Only two of the last 20 DROY’s were selected outside of the first round.
Over the past few seasons, there have been a few game changers that have been on the defensive side of the ball. Dallas Cowboys’ Micah Parsons won the DROY award last season, and before him, it was Washington’s Chase Young and San Francisco 49ers’ Nick Bosa.
With this year’s NFL season swiftly approaching, odds are already out on who will claim the DROY title, so here’s a look at the early contenders:
Who are the NFL DROY betting favorites?
It’s no surprise that former Michigan edge rusher and No. 2 overall pick to the Detroit Lions Aidan Hutchinson and New York Giants’ newest EDGE rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux are leading the top two spots for defensive rookie of the year with +575 betting odds, according to our partner, PointsBet.
Hutchinson set the Michigan single-season sacks record with 14 as a senior and has the chance to be the fourth player from the Lions to win the award after Lem Barney (1968), Al “Bubba” Baker (1976) and Ndamukong Suh (2010). ).
During his time at the University of Oregon, Thibodeaux recorded 126 total tackles, 35.5 tackles for loss and 19 sacks.
The No. 1 overall pick from the University of Georgia, Travon Walker is following closely behind with +800 odds to take home the coveted award and breakout star Nakobe Dean rounds out the top 10 at +1500.
Here are the betting odds of the top 10 favorites:
Aidan Hutchinson +575
Kayvon Thibodeaux +575
Travon Walker +800
Kyle Hamilton +900
Quay Walker +1000
Ahmad Gardner +1100
Derek Stingley Jr. +1100
Devin Lloyd +1100
Jermaine Johnson II +1100
Nakobe Dean +1500
Who has the lowest odds to win DROY?
Six players are currently tied with the lowest odds (+20000) to win Defensive Rookie of the Year: Darrian Beavers, Bryan Cook, DeAngelo Malone, Haskell Garrett, Mario Goodrich and Josh Jobe.
Here are the bottom 10 longshots to win DROY:
Michael Wright +15000
Josh Paschal +15000
Perrion Winfrey +17500
Jack Sanborn +17500
Darrian Beavers +20000
Bryan Cook +20000
DeAngelo Malone +20000
Haskell Garrett +20000
Mario Goodrich +20000
Josh Jobe +20000
Editor’s note: All odds are provided by us partner, PointsBet. PointsBet is our Official Sports Betting Partner and we may receive compensation if you place a bet on PointsBet for the first time after clicking our links.