NFL Odds: Defensive Rookie Of The Year Odds Listed Following NFL Draft

There’s no more speculating about where certain players will land with the NFL draft over. It’s now time to take a good look at how rookie defensive players are projected to perform once they hit the gridiron with their respective teams.

Oddsmakers are already hard at work putting out betting prices for which defensive players will have the most successful rookie seasons and potentially wind up with NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors.

The NFL draft began with a run of five straight defensive players being picked, which hadn’t happened at the start of the event in over 30 years. There were plenty of other defensive playmakers taken in the first round as well, which makes for interesting odds.

Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Travon Walker doesn’t have the best betting odds despite being the No. 1 overall pick. That distinction belongs to the man drafted right after him, Detroit Lions defensive lineman Aidan Hutchinson.

The oddsmakers certainly see a few back-end of the first-round draftees vying for the end-of-season award with Green Bay Packers linebacker Quay Walker (No. 22), New York Jets linebacker Jermaine Johnson II (No. 26) and Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Devin Lloyd (No. 27) all within the top six on the list.

Here are the top 15 players on the DraftKings Sportsbook betting sheet for Defensive Rookie of the Year:

Aidan Hutchinson +400
Kavyon Thibodeaux +450
Travon Walker +550
Quay Walker +800
Jermaine Johnson II +800
Devin Lloyd +800
Derek Stingley Jr. +900
Ahmad Gardner +900
Kyle Hamilton +950
Nakobe Dean +1300
Jordan Davis +1400
Trent McDuffie +1600
Kaiir Elam +1800
George Karlaftis +1800
Andrew Booth Jr. +2200

Despite Stingley and Gardner both being taken in the top four of the draft, there’s reason based on the award’s past history why they have lower odds. Since 2000, only two defensive backs — Marshon Lattimore and Marcus Peters — have come away with the award, making it way more likely that a Micah Parson-type linebacker, who took home the honor last season, or an impact edge rusher get the title.