2024 NFL Predictions: Who are the top Defensive Player of the Year candidates?

There are a ton of quality defensive players in the NFL. Who should be looked at as the favorite to win the Defensive Player of the Year award in the 2024 NFL Season?

Like quarterbacks for offense, the pass rushers do tend to dominate the storylines on the defensive side of the ball. Last year, Cleveland Browns pass rusher Myles Garrett came away with his first DPoY award, and the year before that, Nick Bosa won.

Guess who won in 2021? Yep, TJ Watt. Do you see a trend here? Let's dive into the top DPoY candidates for the 2024 NFL Season.

2024 NFL Predictions: Who are the top Defensive Player of the Year candidates?
Myles Garrett, EDGE, Cleveland Browns

Myles Garrett won the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award in 2023, so he's logically a candidate in 2024. Some actually believed that Pittsburgh Steelers pass rusher TJ Watt was more deserving of the award, but Garrett helped anchor the better defense.

In 2023, Garrett tallied 14 sacks, 42 total tackles, 17 tackles for loss, and 30 QB hits. And with him now being in year two of Jim Schwartz' defense, there is reason to think that Garrett could be even better in the 2024 NFL Season. The Browns offense also being more efficient can take some pressure off the defense, so that could allow Garrett to tee off on opposing QBs.

TJ Watt, EDGE, Pittsburgh Steelers

TJ Watt won the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award in 2021, and he had a strong case to win it again in 2023. In the 2023 NFL Season, Watt tallied 19 sacks, 68 total tackles, 19 tackles for loss, and 36 QB hits. Statistically, he was much better than Myles Garrett, but here we are. Watt has shown no signs of slowing down, and as he enters his age-30 season, there is reason to believe that he can keep this pace up again.

Watt may already be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, as he has made six Pro Bowls and four All-Pros in 104 regular season games. Watt has averaged nearly one sack per game across his NFL career, which is insane production. Can TJ Watt win the DPoY award back?

Micah Parsons, EDGE, Dallas Cowboys

Through three seasons, Micah Parsons has made three Pro Bowls and two All-Pro awards. He's got 40.5 sacks and 89 QB hits through those three seasons, finishing third in the DPoY voting in 2023, and finishing second in both 2021 and 2022.

Micah Parsons may arguably be the best pass rusher in the NFL, and with how young he still is, you have to figure that Parsons will eventually break through and win at least one of these awards.

Parsons and the Dallas Cowboys do not have any sort of contract extension in place, so it's interesting to see what could happen there between the two sides.

Danielle Hunter, EDGE, Houston Texans

One of my favorite players in the NFL, Danielle Hunter signed with a two-year deal with the Houston Texans this offseason, and Hunter is coming off of one of the more productive seasons of his career.

The four-time Pro Bowler notched 16.5 sacks, 83 total tackles, 23 tackles for loss, which led the NFL, and 22 QB hits. Hunter was all over the place, and now he'll get to team up with Will Anderson Jr and DeMeco Ryans in Houston.

Danielle Hunter has to be one of the more underrated players in the NFL this decade, and after playing in just seven games across the 2020 and 2021 seasons, Hunter has not missed a game over the last two seasons. Look for the veteran pass rusher to be a force in 2024.