In basically all team sports, offense is more flashy than defense, so it’s the offensive superstars that tend to become the bigger names. The NFL MVP award, which can technically be awarded to players on either side of the ball, has only gone to a defensive player twice.
But defensive players can have just as big an impact on winning as offensive players, and the fresh crop of talent in the NFL is arguably stronger on that side of the ball, as four of the first seven picks in the 2026 NFL Draft were defenders. They’ll all be hoping to Carson Schwesinger’s footsteps as the Defensive Rookie of the Year.
2026 NFL DROY Odds
In seven of the last 10 seasons, this award has gone to an edge rusher, with Schwesinger, Sauce Gardner, and Marshon Lattimore the exceptions. It’s no surprise, then, that three of the four players with the shortest odds are all edge rushers. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Reuben Bain Jr. and the New York Jets’ David Bailey are tied at +500, and the New York Giants’ Arvell Reese is at +750. Sonny Styles, a hybrid safety/middle linebacker, is tied with his former college teammate Reese at +750, with Dallas Cowboys safety Caleb Downs at +850 and Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Mansoor Delane at +900.
Bain and Bailey should both immediately become starters for teams in desperate need of their skills. Last season, the Buccaneers finished 14th-to-last in sacks and eighth-to-last in pressure rate, so Bain, who had 9.5 sacks for Miami in its run to the national championship game, should fit in nicely with Tampa Bay, which lost veteran Haason Reddick in free agency. The Jets, meanwhile, were even worse defensively, recording the second-fewest sacks and getting pressure at the lowest rate. Bailey, who led the FBS with 14.5 sacks in his senior season at Texas Tech, should be an upgrade over Jermaine Johnson II, who was traded to the Tennessee Titans in the offseason. As for Reese, the Giants were also below-average by both sacks and pressure rate, and while they already have a pair of talented edge rushers in Brian Burns and Abdul Carter, Reese has the versatility to play either edge rusher or inside linebacker.
The non-pass rushers won’t put up flashy stats, but in a season in which no pass rusher stands out, a lockdown corner or tackle machine could take it. The only standout edge rusher last season was the Atlanta Falcons’ James Pearce Jr., opening the door for Schwesinger, who ranked sixth in the league in tackles, to claim the award in a landslide. In 2022, Gardner was named to the AP All-Pro First Team, posting the highest overall grade of any qualified corner at Pro Football Focus, and in 2017, Lattimore had five interceptions, including one for a touchdown. The bar is high for Styles, Downs, and Delane, but all three were top picks for a reason. Styles had 182 tackles across his final two collegiate seasons, Downs led the SEC in solo tackles as a freshman, and Delane had 11 passes defended in 11 games for LSU. Delane is a particularly good fit and could have an outsized impact on winning, as the Kansas City Chiefs lost both of their starting cornerbacks (Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson) to the Los Angeles Rams over the offseason.
For a long-shot bet, I like Zion Young. Young had a productive two seasons at Missouri, ranking second in the SEC in tackles for a loss (16.5) during his senior year, and he likely fell to the second round in part due to off-the-field concerns. The Baltimore Ravens clearly have a need for his services, as they ranked third-to-last in sacks and sixth-to-last in pressure rate last season, and while he’ll start the season behind Tavius Robinson on the depth chart, it shouldn’t be too hard for him to usurp a player who played only 10 games last season, recording 4.5 sacks. New defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver was previously a defensive assistant on John Harbaugh’s staff between 2021 and 2023, and in 2023, he helped the Ravens lead the league in sacks and expected points added.
