From Unlisted to DPOY Favorites: The DeMarcus Lawrence and Calais Campbell Story

From Unlisted to DPOY Favorites: The DeMarcus Lawrence and Calais Campbell Story

Many of you may have already felt the same way, but betting on the defensive player of the year award before the season begins is kind of a fish bet. As we saw with J.J. Watt and just about every major offensive player in the league, key injuries can come at any time. Also, on defense, players can kind of just come out of nowhere and put up monster stats. See Vic Beasley.

Defensive Player of the Year

Before the season began, DeMarcus Lawrence and Calais Campbell were both not one of the sixty some-odd names listed at Ladbrokes, BetOnline, or Bovada. Last year, Lawrence played in nine games and recorded just one measly sack. Campbell had left Arizona after nine seasons and was on his way to Sacksonville, or Jacksonville as it was known at the time, for what was supposed to be an uneventful season.

If we look at the sacks leaderboard at ESPN, we basically see where the updated odds come from. Lawrence leads the league with 11.5 sacks and has also forced three and recovered two fumbles. Perhaps the most impressive stat, however, is the yards lost on his sacks. His 126 yards are wayyyy more than anyone else in the league has. He’s essentially averaged 11 yards lost per sack—kind of a big deal.

Joey Bosa is a couple sacks behind the league leader, but is tied with Campbell for second best odds. Given his pedigree and potential, we should expect Bosa to perform better down the stretch than Lawrence and Campbell.

Not seen on the sack leaderboard list (because he doesn’t have any) is Ryan Shazier, listed at 10/1. Though he has no sacks, he’s done a bit of everything else. He has four more passes deflected than any other linebacker with 10. He also has three interceptions and two forced fumbles.

Defensive Rookie of the Year

When it comes to rookies, Marshon Lattimore is stealing the show. Defensive ends and linebackers have been hoarding the hardware in recent years, but Lattimore’s presence on New Orleans has literally made the Saints Super Bowl contenders. Though I don’t have a Pro Football Focus membership, I am able to see that he is the best cornerback in the league this season. Not just among rookies, but everyone.

I’m a bit surprised that Myles Garrett is still second on the list considering he’s only played four games. He does have four sacks, too, but there has to be someone else worthy of that spot. How is there not a bigger gap between Lattimore and Garrett?

Though J.J. Watt won’t be winning defensive player of the year, his little bro is keeping the award potential alive in the Watt family. T.J. Watt has put together a nice little stat line, with four sacks, four passes deflected, an interception, and 31 combined tackles.