Early NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year 2024 Odds & Predictions

We’ve already covered the MVP race here, the OPOY and DPOY situations here, and the early Offensive Rookie of the Year Rookie of the Year race here. Last but not least, is our early look at the Defensive Rookie of the Year award, which is probably the most wide open race of the bunch.

All odds provided by Sports Interaction.

NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year 2024 Betting Odds

The Top 2: Dallas Turner (MIN) (+400) and Laiatu Latu (IND) (+600)

As you could probably guess, four of the top eight players on the DROY odds table for these sports betting sites are edge rushers.

Dallas Turner and Laiatu Latu were two of the first three defenders taken in the 2024 draft, by the Minnesota Vikings and Indianapolis Colts, respectively.

Turner will be firing off the edge opposite new arrival Jonathan Greenard, who’s coming off a 12.5-sack season. He’ll also have veteran Harrison Phillips, who had a career year in 2023, clogging up attention in the middle. Also working to Turner’s advantage, and likely the biggest reason he sits atop this odds table, is his defensive coordinator, Brian Flores.

Flores has developed a unique defensive scheme in the Twin Cities centered on heavy blitzing. In 2023, the Vikes blitzed on 51.5 percent of snaps, by far the most in football, which means it will be nearly impossible for opposing offenses to double him consistently. The rookie should have a stellar year in that situation, but there’s more value elsewhere than the +400 odds he’s offering this early in the offseason.

In Indy, Latu is offering a little more value at +600 odds, and he comes into a pretty darn good situation too. While they didn’t have a bonafide No. 1 pass-rusher in 2023, the Colts got after the QB to the tune of 51 sacks, fifth-most in football.

They accomplished that with four different guys contributing 8.0+ sacks, which means Latu can come come in without too much pressure, while also seeing very few double teams due to the fact that teams have to worry about guys like DeForest Buckner, Kwity Paye, and Samson Ebukam too.

There is some worry that his neck issues may come back to bite him, so while he’s a decent play at +600 odds here, Ontario sportsbooks are offering much better value elsewhere.

Jared Verse, Edge (LAR) (+1,100)

Along with Laiatu and Turner, Jared Verse was viewed as a prospect who could’ve been the first defender taken off the board in the draft, though he ended up being the fourth when the Los Angeles Rams took him at No. 19.

Verse comes into a very interesting situation, as the guy who’s been dominating the league and holding down L.A.’s defensive line for the past decade, Aaron Donald, has retired. It will now be up to Verse and fellow rookie Braden Fiske to pick up the slack alongside surprise contributors from 2023 like Kobie Turner and Byron Young.

The latter two were rookies last year, and both put up 8.0+ sacks. While Donald’s presence surely contributed to that, the pair massively overperformed nonetheless, and with two early picks in Verse and Fiske coming on board too, this could be a very fearsome defensive line.

For our money, the Rams defense has just as good a chance at being a top unit as Minnesota’s and Indianapolis’, if not more so. And along those same lines, the odds for Turner, Laiatu, and Verse should be much more even, but since they’re not, the value in this edge rushing trio lies solely with Verse, whose +1,100 odds are nearly double those of Laiatu.

Philadelphia’s CBs: Quinyon Mitchell (+1,100) and Cooper DeJean (+1,600)

If Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean had been drafted to different teams, they’d probably be two of our favorite picks for DROY. Mitchell is probably the best cover corner in the draft; the closest thing to Sauce Gardner, the only CB to win it in the last six years, that we have in this class.

DeJean, meanwhile, seems like he’s the type of athletic freak who could make enough ball-hawking or splash plays to really stick in the minds of voters, especially if he can get that special teams bump if he performs as a returner.

However, the issue here is that when two teammates have great seasons, they make it tough for each other to earn the top hardware. There will be a constant debate all season about which of these two is more responsible for the revival of Philly’s secondary—if there is, indeed, a revival—which will make it tough for either one’s candidacy to pose a real threat to those top edge rushers.

If either gets injured, the other becomes one of our top contenders, but as it stands, Mitchell and DeJean should be stay aways for this future.