In 2024, the Defensive Player of the Year award went to Patrick Surtain II, but the usual suspects, such as Myles Garrett, Micah Parsons, and T.J. Watt, were in the mix for the award as they are pretty much every season. Here are five dark-horse candidates outside of the usual favorites that could win the award in 2025.
*all odds via Fanduel
Five Darkhorse Candidates For Defensive Player of the Year in 2025
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5. OLB Nik Bonitto, Denver Broncos +3300
With 13.5 sacks last year on a top-two defense, Nik Bonitto earned himself several votes for Defensive Player of the Year. He finished ninth in total voting, even though his teammate, Surtain II, took home the award. Last season, Denver finished first in the league in sacks with 63 and ranked third in points allowed. They were one of the best defenses in the league.
Bonitto enjoyed a breakout season, earning himself All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors. If the Broncos remain a top-five defense in 2025, Bonitto has a chance to finish higher than the ninth spot he finished at in DPOY voting in 2024. He is a candidate to lead the NFL in sacks next season, which will help make his case for DPOY.
Bonitto is also due for a well-deserved contract extension.
4. CB Derek Stingley Jr., Houston Texans +6000
The Houston Texans have the potential to be the best defense in the NFL in 2025, and if that happens, that will mean recently extended Derek Stingley Jr. will be a big part of that ascent into the top defense. Last season, Stingley enjoyed a first-team All-Pro season, finishing the season with five interceptions and was second in the league with passes defended. Surtain II took home the DPOY trophy last year as a defensive back, and Stingley has the potential to make it two years in a row for the defensive backs.
Stingley signed a three-year $90 million contract this offseason, making him the second-highest-paid cornerback in the league.
3. S Kyle Hamilton, Baltimore Ravens +5000
According to a recent ESPN poll compiled by executives and coaches around the NFL, Kyle Hamilton is viewed as the best safety in the league. Hamilton is the best player on a Baltimore Ravens defense that will be expected to do some big things this season. Hamilton was a first-team All-Pro player in 2023 and a second-team All-Pro player in 2024.
As a movable chess piece on the back end of the Ravens’ defense that can cover deep, tight ends, and fit in the run game, Hamilton isn’t just the top safety in the league but one of the best defenders in the NFL.
2. DT Jalen Carter, Philadelphia Eagles +2200
The Philadelphia Eagles had the best defense in the NFL last season, and it propelled them all the way to a Super Bowl title. Though Philadelphia’s defense is loaded with talent, the best of them all is Jalen Carter, the former top ten pick from the 2023 draft. Carter has shown flashes of dominant play as a defensive tackle to the point where other dominant players of the NFL’s past have been impressed.
After the NFC Divisional round win over the Los Angeles Rams, where a sack from Carter essentially ended the game, Carter received compliments from former NFL players such as Aaron Donald. Former running back standout LeSean McCoy stated that Donald had told him Carter was his future “replacement”.
Carter was a second-team All-Pro selection last season, and with a dominant third season, Carter will firmly be in Defensive Player of the Year conversations after being voted 12th last season.
1. EDGE Jared Verse, Los Angeles Rams +1600
In just one year, second-year defensive end Jared Verse has already made a name for himself. The 2024 first-round pick won the Defensive Rookie of the Year award and was a Pro Bowl selection. With 77 pressures, he had the most pressures generated by a rookie in the last five seasons and has already become one of the reasons players are retiring from the NFL.
Recently retired Miami Dolphins Pro Bowl offensive lineman Terron Armstead talked about what a pain it was to face Verse and believes he will be a future Defensive Player of the Year.
“number one, he was a rookie from the Rams. That young boy, Jared Verse? I’m cool. I’m good. I never gotta see that man again,” Armstead said. “I’m OK with never seeing that young man again in my life. Bull rush is different. Dawg, it’s different. You know that it’s coming. You brace yourself. He’s different. Jared Verse is different. He will be a Defensive Player of the Year one of these days. Mark my words.”
