One of the more highly contested NFL awards of recent years has been Defensive Player of the Year. Five finalists had the opportunity to win in 2023 — DaRon Bland, Maxx Crosby, Myles Garrett, Micah Parsons, and T.J. Watt.
The winner was announced on Thursday night from Las Vegas, with Garrett taking home the award. It’s his first time to be named Defensive Player of the Year, just adding to the impressive list of accolades on the resume.
With how important rushing the passer is, it’s no surprise to see them get the most love during award season. Ultimately, Garrett won out, and for a very good reason.
Garrett was named first-team All-Pro after his 2023 season. He had 14.0 sacks and was back in the double-digits — for the sixth season in a row — when discussing tackles for a loss. The Cleveland Browns product had 17 TFLs, falling one short of his career high.
Watt has been on the stage before to accept the DPOY Award and continued to be one of the NFL’s best players. His 19 sacks led the league, an accomplishment Watt has pulled off in three out of the last four seasons. Nick Bosa had the honor in 2022 but Watt missed significant time due to an injury.
As for Crosby, he is just as good off the EDGE in run support as he is trying to get to the quarterback. Las Vegas fired Josh McDaniels in the middle of the season, elevating Antonio Pierce to interim head coach. Crosby’s success — 14.5 sacks, 23 TFLs, and 90 tackles — produces results for the Raiders and got Pierce the full-time job.
Two Dallas Cowboys fall short for Defensive Player of the Year
Parsons had a monster season with Dallas, having a career-high 14.0 sacks. He was as consistent as they got too, only walking away from five games without recording a sacks. Opposing quarterbacks were seeing No. 11 in the backfield more times than not.
Another Cowboy was up for the award but for different reasons. Bland set an NFL record this year for the most interceptions returned for a touchdown with six. Seemingly every time Bland got his hands on the ball, he was running the other way to score.
The majority of the candidates from this year will likely be in the hunt for DPOY again next year. Garrett was able to enjoy the moment in 2023, while others will be hoping it’s their turn in 2024.
More must-reads: