NFL Defensive Player of the Year Odds, Best Bets

(Editor’s note: This article is from The Spun by Athlon Sports’ 2025 Football Betting Guide — the perfect preseason reference companion for new bettors or sharps alike. Order your copy today online, or pick one up at retail racks and newsstands nationwide.)

Patrick Surtain’s NFL Defensive Player of the Year triumph last season is yet another example of how bettors can win big in the futures market.

The Broncos’ cornerback opened with odds as high as 155/1, and that number climbed to 227/1 after Week 3. By Week 4, Surtain’s price dropped to 30/1, and he didn’t become a favorite until t he final week when the market was still available on the board.

Surtain, however, needed some things to break in his favor to win the honor — most notably a season-ending leg injury to Detroit sack specialist Aidan Hutchinson in Week 5.

As deserving as Surtain might’ve been by season’s end, sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. After all, Hutchinson was on pace to obliterate the NFL sacks record (22.5) after racking up 7.5 before the injury.

After analyzing the offseason player movement throughout the league, there’s a good chance the Broncos once again will field one of the NFL’s top defenses.

However, Surtain could face DOPY competition from w ithin his own locker room. With that in mind, here are my two best bets for the NFL’s top defender in 2025 heading into the preseason:

Nik Bonitto +3500

Adding two 49ers free agents — linebacker Dre Greenlaw and safety Talanoa Hufanga — will only strengthen a Broncos defense that was already elite. Denver also drafted Texas cornerback Jahdae Barron in the first round to partner with Surtain in the secondary.

With the defense poised to replicate its performance from a season ago, targeting a Broncos defender to win NFL Defensive Player of the Year for a second straight season might make sense. It also might make sense to avoid Surtain due to potential voter fatigue.

That brings us to Nik Bonitto, a second-team All-Pro selection who posted a team-high 13.5 sacks last year after having eight in 20 23.

Bonitto finished in the top 10 in 2024 DPOY voting, and with the Oklahoma product entering the final year of his rookie deal, he’ll be plenty motivated to ball out. Just imagine if he can plop a 2025 NFL DPOY trophy on the negotiating table next offseason.

Aidan Hutchinson +700

We will never know if Aidan Hutchinson would’ve won the DPOY in 2024 had he not gotten injured. What is clear is that the Lions desperately lacked a suitable replacement who could match his production.

Despite missing the final 12 regular-season games, Hutch­inson’s 7.5 sacks were almost twice as many as anyone else on the team.

He was the first defender last year to register 45 or more pressures; he received a grade of 90.0 or better from Pro Football Focus for the first five weeks; and his pass rush win rate of 38.3% was almost 11 percentage points better than the rest of the league at the time of his injury.

The dropoff from Hutchinson to a replacement-level player is so significant that voters would have to be blind to undersell his value.

Hutchinson should benefit from the continuity of Detroit’s defensive line, as Alim McNeill, D.J. Reader and Marcus Davenport also return for another season. So, as long as he stays healthy, Hutchinson’s +900 DPOY odds offer sensational value.

Here are thge updated odds for NFL Defensive Player of the Year, courtesy of betMGM (editor’s note: these odds are updated from what appears in the magazine):