In just a couple of weeks, every NFL team is going to be back on the field for training camp, and the 2026 NFL season will officially be here.
The hunt for one of the most coveted awards in the league -- Defensive Player of the Year -- will officially be on. Myles Garrett is the reigning DPOY after racking up an NFL-record 23 sacks for the Browns last season, and now he's playing for one of the top contenders in the entire league.
There will be plenty of contenders to take the belt from Garrett, but it's not going to be easy. We're going to do our best to sort out which players on the defensive side of the ball might be the prime candidates to win Defensive Player of the Year this season, whether they're coming off the edge or trying to defy the odds and win it at a different position.
An important note: Packers star pass rusher Micah Parsons was not included on this list due to questions over his injury recovery timeline. If he is able to be out there at the start of the season, Parsons would take one of the top 6 or 7 spots on this list.
NFL Power Rankings: Top 10 DPOY candidates for the 2026 season
10. Maxx Crosby, DE, Las Vegas Raiders
The idea of Maxx Crosby winning NFL Defensive Player of the Year in the 2026 season feels extremely far-fetched, and for a variety of reasons.
We've seen Myles Garrett win NFL DPOY on a bad team, so that's not out of the realm of possibility, but the Browns didn't necessarily have a bad overall defense. That might be the case for the Raiders, so it's difficult to justify picking a DPOY from a defense that doesn't play well as a unit, even if Crosby's contributions are substantial.
However, he's on this list because of that fact. If he can be the tide raising all boats in the harbor, Crosby is going to generate a ton of attention. It's also possible that he could get traded to a better team and get even better odds to win this award in 2026.
Regardless, Crosby is one of the best all-around players on the defensive side of the ball in the entire league. He has to be a candidate for the award, even if it feels like he's a longshot.
9. Quinyon Mitchell, CB, Philadelphia Eagles
Throwing the ball Quinyon Mitchell's direction is usually a fruitless endeavor. We can't go so far as to say it's a mistake to throw his direction, but it's a fool's errand.
Just last season, Mitchell allowed 44.3 percent of passes thrown into his coverage to be completed. That's absolutely ridiculous productivity in terms of shutting down your side of the field.
He finished 2nd in the league in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting in 2024, then wound up as a 1st-team All-Pro selection during the 2025 season. The Vic Fangio defense is perfect for Mitchell's skill set, and even though teams aren't testing him a ton, the one thing preventing him from ranking a lot higher on this list is the fact that he has no interceptions in 32 NFL games.
That just feels wrong. Even with 29 total passes broken up, Mitchell's lack of takeaways (0 INTs, 0 FF) are the one thing preventing him from being a true "favorite" for this type of award.
Add us as a preferred source on Google