2023 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Odds: No. 3 Overall Pick Anderson Is the One to Beat

Plenty of Pass Rushers Showing Up As NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Candidates

In the last two NFL seasons, the fourth and third defensive players selected ended up winning the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award.

Will Alabama’s Will Anderson, the first defensive player to come off the board, reverse that trend in 2023? The 2023 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year odds are certainly liking Anderson’s chances.

Three times from 2016-2020, the first defensive player drafted would win the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. Each time it was a pass rusher who earned that honor, so that could bode well for Anderson as he tries to follow in the footsteps of the Bosa brothers and Chase Young.

Four of the top six candidates for the award are either edge rushers or defensive linemen. Six of the top eight candidates were picked by NFC teams with three of those landing in the NFC East.

Here’s a look at some of the front-runners and the odds following the completion of the 2023 NFL Draft.

Anderson the Early Leader

Anderson checks all the boxes as a productive player with 204 tackles, 61 tackles for loss and 34.5 sacks in three seasons with one of the top programs in the country. It is no wonder that he is the current front-runner according to the 2023 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year odds.

Only Minnesota and Detroit allowed more yards per game a season ago than the Texans so Anderson will get every chance to come in and be an impact player. Houston gave up quite a bit, including a No. 1 pick in 2024, to trade up and land Anderson so that could also result in more opportunities for Anderson.

Other than Jerry Hughes, the other returning defensive linemen on the Houston roster combined for four sacks during the 2022 season. Defensive end Tyree Wilson and defensive tackle Jalen Carter, who went to the Las Vegas Raiders and Philadelphia Eagles in the top 10, are both priced at +800.

With Maxx Crosby with the Raiders and the Eagles loaded with playmakers on defense, Wilson and Carter could get freed up to deal with man-to-man blocking more often than Anderson will. When looking at the 2022 NFL standings, the Eagles led the NFC with 14 wins during the regular season.

Fellow pass rushers Lukas Van Ness of the Green Bay Packers and Nolan Smith of the Philadelphia Eagles come in at +1200 and +1600 followed by Will McDonald of the New York Jets and Myles Murphy of the Cincinnati Bengals, who both have +2000 odds, according to the NFL betting odds this week.

Van Ness joins last year’s first-round picks Quay Walker and Devonte Wyatt in a revamped front seven with the Packers. Smith is another of the players to watch with the Eagles.

McDonald’s selection was a bit surprising after the Jets picked Jermaine Johnson late in the first round in 2022 while the Bengals have some young players on the defensive line that Murphy will be joining.

They have plenty of company.

Felix Anudike-Uzomah (+2000) joins the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, Keion White is now with the New England Patriots and along with defensive lineman Calijah Kancey of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are priced at +2500 in the rookie of the year odds.

Cornering the Market

Neither Sauce Gardner nor Tariq Woolen were high-profile recruits coming out of high school. That didn’t stop them from being two of the top rookies in the NFL in 2022 and two of the best cornerbacks in the NFL last season.

Could history be repeating with Devon Witherspoon, who will join Woolen in a star-studded secondary with the Seattle Seahawks?

Witherspoon was being recruited by UMass, South Alabama, Appalachian State and Temple before Illinois came along.

Witherspoon was the first defensive back picked and is priced at +900 to be the Defensive Rookie of the Year, according to the 2023 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year odds.

Oregon’s Christian Gonzalez fell out of the top 15 before being plucked by the New England Patriots. He is right behind Witherspoon at +1000 followed by Emmanuel Forbes of the Washington Commanders (+1400) and Joey Porter Jr. of the Pittsburgh Steelers (+2000).

Gardner received 46 of the 50 first-place votes in the 2022 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year balloting. Woolen picked up one No. 1 vote with the other three going to Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, the No. 2 overall pick in 2022. Defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux finished fourth in the voting followed by Houston safety Jalen Pitre and Dallas defensive end Sam Williams. What that means is that three of the six players to receive votes were picked outside of the first round.

Some Work to Do

Over the last 10 seasons, the only sideline-to-sideline linebacker to be named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year was Shaquille Leonard of the Indianapolis Colts, then going by Darius Leonard, in 2018.

Looking at the odds, that might not change.

Drew Sanders of the Denver Broncos (+2000), Trenton Simpson of the Baltimore Ravens (+2500) and Jack Campbell of the Detroit Lions (+2500) are the top inside linebackers in the Rookie of the Year odds.

Campbell is the only linebacker not taken for pass-rushing prowess to go in the first round. Sanders was the 67th pick and Simpson was the 86th pick. Leonard is the last player selected outside the first round to be the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.

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