Ranking the 30 best Defensive Player of the Year winning seasons

Ranking the 30 best Defensive Player of the Year winning seasons: 28. 2008 James Harrison

James Harrison had one of the most interesting careers in the recent history of the NFL. He had an old-school feel to him because he definitely tried to knock people’s heads off and that generally is looked down upon in today’s NFL. He also famously spent a ridiculous amount of money to keep his body in peak performance shape. Harrison was also famous for fighting the league tooth and nail on just about anything.

In 2008, Harrison went from an undrafted free agent to the best defensive player in the league. He put up 16 sacks and forced a league-leading seven fumbles. His huge hits were still being celebrated, and that led to a dominant Pittsburgh defense that had us thinking of the days of Three Rivers Stadium.

Harrison finished the season beating out the Cowboys’ Demarcus Ware for the award. That’s because of the stellar defense the Steelers had as a whole. Harrison led a defense that was tops in total defense and points allowed. Nobody could even move against this defense, and Harrison was the engine that helped it run so smoothly.

During the 2008 season, the Steelers didn’t allow a 300-yard passer or a 100-yard rusher. The fear Harrison was putting in quarterbacks had them hesitant to throw the ball, and running backs did everything in their power to run away from Harrison’s side. If that doesn’t tell you the story of a great defensive player, then we don’t know what will.