2016 NFL Defensive Player of the Year Futures Bets
By Loot, NFL Handicapper, Lootmeister.com
Wagering on the NFL Defensive Player of the Year offers appeal across different fronts. First of all, it allows you to focus on the defensive side of the ball when most futures bets focus on offensive production. A lot of bettors are better at analyzing things on the other side of the ball and this bet gives them a rare chance to capitalize on it. For whatever players you select, you are in for the whole season, as this bets gives you a stake on that players' every performance. Let's not forget about the element of having fun with NFL football betting. From that standpoint, it's hard to beat these kinds of bets.
J.J. Watt, the illustrious and feared defensive end of the Houston Texans, has won this award 3 of the past 4 seasons and is the favorite to do so again this season at +250. He would be the first 4-time winner of this award, with him and LT the only three-timers. Defensive ends are typically good choices. The same can be said for safeties and linebackers. The last defensive tackle to win this award was Warren Sapp in '99. That's not great news for the 4th choice on this board—Los Angeles Rams' DT Aaron Donald. Corners don't get a lot of love either, with Charles Woodson the only one to win this since Deion Sanders in 1994. Also of interest, only four players who played on a Super Bowl-winning team have won this award since 1986.
Stats can be a little tricky when dealing with defensive players. Some of the best guys on "D" don't really have a stat line that is eye-popping. The best defensive backs aren't always the ones with the most picks. And the most-effective linemen don't always have glistening sacks totals. In other words, there are some players on this list who would really need to go above and beyond to get the nod for this award. For some reason, things just don't set up that well for them to rack up the stats that tend to get votes in this category.
We have listed some our best and highest-value picks below. Following that is a full list of odds for all the candidates to win the NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
Loot's Picks to Win Defensive Player of the Year
JJ Watt (+250): The three-time winner goes for his record fourth Defensive Player of the Year Award this season and is naturally a top candidate. Drawbacks of this choice include his odds of +250 and the fact that voters might be inclined to look elsewhere just to keep it fresh. But if he puts up some obscene sack totals and dominates in his normal fashion, he will remain the league's most-compelling choice.
Von Miller (+450): He racks up pretty impressive sack totals usually, but his dominance can't quite be captured by stats. Miller's talent was always known, but during Denver's Super Bowl run, he often showed himself to be the best player on the field. If he approaches that same level of dominance this season and helps keep the Broncos relevant, he could be in the running.
Khalil Mack (+650): If looking to time a player's ascent to superstar status this season, third-year edge rusher Khalil Mack of the Raiders is as good a candidate as anyone. Given some freedom to do damage in the Oakland defense, he is also a ruthless run-stopper and if his game kicks up another notch as projected, Mack's stock could rise dramatically this season.
Tyrann Mathieu (+4000): At 40-to-1, there could be some sentimentality and appeal to go a different direction with Mathieu. The formerly-troubled college star has kept his nose clean as a pro, before going down late last year with a torn ACL and deprived of a chance to play in the postseason. A strong season in 2016 could put Mathieu in the mix.
Darrelle Revis (+8000): Generally, players who may have lost a step are not ideal choices to win this award. Also, corners have not been ideal choices to take down this honor. Then again, he's 80-to-1, and still has enough skill to be considered a top corner to this day. Perhaps he can add to his five picks and four fumble recoveries from a year ago. It's not right that the best corner of his day has never won this award, so maybe he can parlay some of that sentimentality into some votes with a great season for the Jets this year.
MAKE YOUR PICKS ON WHO WILL WIN THE 2016 NFL DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR USING THESE ODDS AT 5DIMES
Odds to Win the NFL Defensive Player of the Year
JJ Watt+250
Von Miller +450
Khalil Mack +650
Aaron Donald +675
Luke Kuechly +1000
Richard Sherman +1400
Josh Norman +1800
Clay Matthews +2500
Anthony Barr +3000
Earl Thomas +3000
Kawann Short +3000
Ndamukong Suh +4000
Robert Quinn +4000
Tyrann Mathieu +4000
Justin Houston +5000
Lavonte David +5000
Patrick Peterson +5000
Aqib Talib +6000
Darrelle Revis +7500
DeMarcus Ware +7500
Geno Atkins +7500
CJ Mosley +8000
Eric Berry +8000
Deone Bucannon +9000
Kam Chancellor +9000
Bobby Wagner +10000
Fletcher Cox +10000
Jadaveon Clowney +10000
Joe Haden +10000
Star Lotuleilei +10000
Thomas Davis +10000
Vontaze Burflict +10000
Michael Bennett +12500
Jalen Ramsey +15000
Kwon Alexander +15000
Elvis Dumervil +17500
Everson Griffin +20000
Joey Bosa +20000
Lael Collins +20000
Marcus Peters +20000
Myles Jack +20000
Ryan Kerrigan +20000
Shaq Lawson +20000
Whitney Mercilus +20000
