The Defensive Player of The Year award has become a bit of a de-facto honor for the player who finishes with the most sacks in the league.
A front-seven defender has won each of the past three Defensive Player of The Year awards, as well as 11 of the past 12 seasons.
With two games remaining in the regular season, there are a trio off pass-rushers who seem to have separated themselves from the pack, as driving forces behind their team's push for the postseason and as the most consistent defenders across the NFL.
Here's a breakdown of the top candidates for Defensive Player of The Year candidates and where things stand ahead of Week 17 of the 2023 campaign.
1. Micah Parsons, EDGE, Dallas Cowboys
Micah Parsons remains the most consistently dominant and disruptive defender across the NFL, the kind of player who keeps offensive play-callers awake the night before game day. Parsons has played his way into the fringes of the NFL MVP conversation by logging 13 sacks through the first 16 weeks of the NFL season, and posting a league-best 38 percent pass-rush win-rate. According to Pro Football Focus, Parsons adds 97 total quarterback pressures to his 53 total tackles. Few defensive players can alter the outcome of games quite like Parsons can, and has, multiple times throughout the 2023 campaign.
2. T.J. Watt, EDGE, Pittsburgh Steelers
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T.J. Watt already owns a tie for the most sacks in a single season, and with two games remaining has made a hard charge towards replicating that mark. Watt enters the Steelers' final two games of the regular season with a league-high 17 sacks, along with 58 total tackles. If Watt finishes with the league's most sacks, it will be the third time in his career that hes managed that feat, the first player to ever do so. That level of consistency alone gives Watt an odds on chance of taking home his second Defensive Player of The Year award.
3. Myles Garrett, EDGE, Cleveland Browns
Myles Garrett might be the gold-standard among pass-rushers, and is a critical piece to the Browns' second half surge towards the postseason. Along with Garrett's 13 sacks, the 27-year-old is seemingly always around the football, as illustrated by his four forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, and 16 tackles for loss through Cleveland's first 15 games. As Pro Football Focus points out, Garrett has also produced 77 total quarterback pressures in 455 pass-rush snaps this season.
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4. DaRon Bland, CB, Dallas Cowboys
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DaRon Bland is turning in one of the most impressive seasons by a cornerback in recent NFL history. Bland set the record for most interceptions returned for a touchdown in a single season, and he did so on Thanksgiving, taking a 63-yard interception to the house in a blowout victory over the Commanders. Beyond creating turnovers, with his eight interceptions, Bland is holding opposing quarterbacks to a meager 46.5 passer rating, as Pro Football Focus points out. If the best offense is a solid defense, Bland has been a scoring machine in his own right for the Cowboys this season, and helped soften the blow from losing Trevon Diggs to a torn Achilles tendon, back in September.
5. Zaire Franklin, LB, Indianapolis Colts
There aren't many players who make as many plays around the football as Zaire Franklin has as an impact defender at the heart of the Indianapolis Colts' defense. Indianapolis' Walter Payton Man of The Year nominee, Franklin has posted a team-high 160 total tackles this season and is seven away from breaking the franchise record, which he set during a stellar 2022 campaign. The Colts are largely in the mix for a playoff berth because of consistently strong play on defense, with Franklin as that unit's driving force.
