Five Defensive Player of the Year candidates for 2026
By Andy Davies
History will be made during Week One of the 2026 NFL Season.
For the first time in history, the season opener will be on a Wednesday, as the Seattle Seahawks host the New England Patriots in a repeat of Super Bowl LX from back in February.
The reason this game will be on a Wednesday as a result of the NFL’s first ever game in Australia, as the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Melbourne has gone NFL crazy as the two NFC West juggernauts prepare to do battle. The game will be littered with talent and perhaps the best of the lot has yet to play a game for the Rams.
Myles Garett, a two-time Defensive Player of the Year, is to make his debut for the Rams in this game.
Garrett will be looking not only to win his first Super Bowl but also create legacy. He will be looking to win his third Defensive Player of the Year award. This would put him level with Aaron Donald, Lawrence Taylor and J.J. Watt.
Winning the award for a third time would cement his already great legacy as one of the greatest defensive players of all-time. Will he win it this season?
Here are five contenders for the award.
Aidan Hutchinson (Detroit Lions)
Aidan Hutchinson was a lot of people’s pick to win the Comeback Player of the Year award 12 months ago.
This came after an impressive start to life in the NFL. After the Detroit Lions went 15-2 in 2024 and earned the number one seed, many were predicting them to go a step or two further in 2025.
Hutchinson was expected to come back from injury to play for a Super Bowl chasing team. However, it turned out far from being this reality.
The Lions missed out on the playoffs altogether, finishing dead last in the NFC North. Hutchinson played all 17 games and was able to come up with 14.5 sacks despite the team’s struggles. Only three players in the league recorded more. He also had the joint second largest total of forced fumbles in the league.
This was not a one-off season. Hutchinson has recorded 43 sacks in 56 games since being drafted second overall in 2022.
In his three injury free seasons, Hutchinson has had at least 9.5 sacks. Even in his 2024 season where he only played five games, he still notched up 7.5. He was the favourite to win the Defensive Player of the Year award given the way that season was going.
In another fully healthy season, Hutchinson is expected to put up excellent numbers once again. With a softer schedule for the Lions, the team are seen by many as a team who could have a great record, only helping his case to win the award.
Brian Burns (New York Giants)
This is the wildcard pick.
Not many people will have Brian Burns down as a Defensive Player of the Year award winner. The arrival of John Harbaugh as head coach may change people’s minds.
The former Baltimore Ravens head coach is someone that could completely turn around the New York Giants’ fortunes. A dark horse tag is being placed on the heads of the team.
The Giants have had just four winning seasons since 2010. Only two of these have seen double digit wins.
If they were to have 10 or more wins under Harbaugh, this would bring the eyes of the media to the franchise and give Burns a chance to win the award.
In his seven seasons as an NFL player, he has never had less than 7.5 sacks in a season. His 16.5 in 2025 ranked second in the league, and only six players had more forced fumbles.
Burns is an excellent pass rusher, one who is fast off the line of scrimmage. In a defensive unit that h
The Giants ranked 26th in 2025 for points allowed. They also ranked 16th against the pass and 31st against the run. No team gave up more yards to penalties. Harbaugh is sure to change that. If Burns can get the stats he did for a team that went 4-13 in 2025, imagine what he could do if they had nine or more wins.
Burns is an outside shout, but someone who has every chance if he puts up similar numbers in 2026.
Myles Garrett (Los Angeles Rams)
Garrett will quite rightly go into the 2026 season as the favourite to win the Defensive Player of the Year.
Given that he has managed to win the award for the Cleveland Browns, this makes the likelihood of him winning it with the Rams that much higher.
The Browns actually went 11-6 when Garrett first won the award in 2023. His 2025 award came for a team that won just five games.
This came as a result of Garrett breaking the all-time single season sack record. His 23 broke the previous total of 22.5 set by Michael Strahan and J.J. Watt.
With the offseason move to the Rams, Garrett has every potential to beat his own record. Sean McVay’s side will be ahead in a lot of games, meaning there is less chance of teams running it in the fourth quarter when behind. This has the chance to elevate his numbers.
Ranking number one in the NFL Top 100, Garrett is in the best stage of his career and is more than a worthwhile candidate for the award.
Nik Bonitto (Denver Broncos)
The Denver Broncos should have been in Super Bowl LX.
They were the number one seed and just earned themselves a trip to the AFC Championships as the hosts after beating the Buffalo Bills.
Tragedy then struck. Less than 30 minutes after the game clock turned zero, head coach Sean Payton came to the podium.
He announced that quarterback Bo Nix was out for the season. They ended up losing to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship. They will be eager to avenge this loss by going that step further and reaching Super Bowl LXI.
Their defense will be a key reason if they do achieve their goals this season. Linebacker Nik Bonitto will be the heart and centre of this unit.
2025 was another excellent season, with 14 sacks. This was following 13.5 in 2024 and 8.5 in 2023.
Sacks tend to win players the award in recent years. It has gone to a defensive lineman or linebacker in all but two of the past 15 seasons. They have all had double digit sacks, the lowest being Aaron Donald in 2017 and Khalil Mack in 2016 (11 each). If the Broncos are to excel this season and finish as one of the AFC’s top seeds once again, expect Bonitto to be a prime contender for the award.
Will Anderson Jr (Houston Texans)
The Houston Texans possess one of the league’s best defenses.
In 2025, no one allowed fewer total yards than the Texans. Only the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks gave up fewer points.
Their pass defense ranked sixth and they were fourth against the run. Under head coach DeMeco Ryans, they have really excelled on this unit on the field.
Defensive end Will Anderson Jr is a key protagonist. In 2025, he recorded 12 sacks in three forced fumbles. This is in addition to his 11 in 2024 and seven in 2023.
In an easier division than most, the Texans will be the favourites to win the AFC South, and this could help them secure the one or two seed.
Success such as this would give the Texans a great chance to reach their first AFC Championship and potentially a Super Bowl LXI appearance. If Anderson stays on the field and they achieve their season goals, he could very well be the guy to beat Garrett to the award.
ANDY DAVIES
NFL ANALYST
ANDY IS A SPORTS JOURNALISM GRADUATE WITH OVER SIX YEARS EXPERIENCE OF NFL WRITING AND PODCASTING. ANDY HAS BEEN TO EVERY NFL STADIUM AND IS THE HOST OF THE ACROSS THE POD PODCAST. HE HAS PRESS PASS EXPERIENCE AT THE LONDON GAMES AND MANY OTHER NFL BASED EVENTS SUCH AS SUPER BOWL LIX AND LX, HAVING INTERVIEWED THE LIKES OF AARON RODGERS, JUSTIN JEFFERSON, JASON BELL, OSI UMENYIORA, PATRICK MAHOMES, TRAVIS KELCE, DERRICK HENRY, SAQUON BARKLEY AND JALEN HURTS.
