Top 10 NFL Defensive Player of the Year candidates: Cowboys, Patriots duos shine
Who deserves to be in the discussion for Defensive Player of the Year entering the final month of the 2021 regular season? Nick Shook ranks his top 10 candidates.
Rank
9
Kevin Byard
Tennessee Titans · FS · Year 6
Byard vaulted into the discussion for the award thanks to a red-hot, five-week span in which he recorded four of his five interceptions on the season. No one has been better when it comes to making plays on the ball, as Byard owns the league lead in ballhawk rate at 29.5 percent (minimum 40 targets). Safeties tend to have a bit of an advantage coming over the top, but Byard's interceptions haven't simply come by playing center field. When he is targeted deep, Byard is the best at making plays on the ball there, too, posting a ballhawk rate of 40 percent on targets of 10-plus air yards. The message is simple: Don't test Byard deep, or he'll likely make you pay. That's good enough for DPOY consideration, even if he won't win it.
