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  • 21 Aug, 2019

  • By, Wikipedia

Associated Press NFL Defensive Player Of The Year Award
The Defensive Player of the Year Award is given by the Associated Press (AP) to the most outstanding defensive player in the National Football League (NFL) at the end of every season. It has been awarded since 1971. The winner is decided by votes from a panel of 50 AP sportswriters. Since 2011, the award has been presented at the annual NFL Honors ceremony the day before the Super Bowl, along with other AP awards, such as the AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award, AP NFL Most Valuable Player Award, and AP NFL Rookie of the Year Award. The most recent winner of the AP Defensive Player of the Year award is defensive end Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns.

Lawrence Taylor, J. J. Watt, and Aaron Donald are the only three-time winners of the award. Joe Greene, Ray Lewis, Mike Singletary, Bruce Smith, and Reggie White have each won it twice. Taylor is the only player to win the award as a rookie, doing so in 1981. In 2008, James Harrison became the only undrafted free agent to win the award. White is the only player to win the award with two different teams, winning in 1987 with the Philadelphia Eagles and again with the Green Bay Packers in 1998. J. J. Watt is the only player to win the award unanimously, receiving 50 out of 50 first place votes in 2014. He was also a near-unanimous winner in 2012 as he earned 49 out of 50 votes.

As of the end of the 2022 NFL season, linebackers have won the award seventeen times, more than any other position. A defensive end has won fourteen times, followed by ten defensive tackles, six cornerbacks, and five safeties. Only two winners of the AP Defensive Player of the Year Award have also won the AP's Most Valuable Player Award for the same season: defensive tackle Alan Page in 1971 for the Minnesota Vikings and linebacker Lawrence Taylor in 1986 for the New York Giants.

Winners

Ray Lewis (No. 52) and Terrell Suggs (No. 55) each won the award playing for the Baltimore Ravens.
Season Player Position Team Ref
1971 Alan Page Defensive tackle Minnesota Vikings
1972 Joe Greene Defensive tackle Pittsburgh Steelers
1973 Dick Anderson Safety Miami Dolphins
1974 Joe Greene (2) Defensive tackle Pittsburgh Steelers
1975 Mel Blount Cornerback Pittsburgh Steelers
1976 Jack Lambert Linebacker Pittsburgh Steelers
1977 Harvey Martin Defensive end Dallas Cowboys
1978 Randy Gradishar Linebacker Denver Broncos
1979 Lee Roy Selmon Defensive end Tampa Bay Buccaneers
1980 Lester Hayes Cornerback Oakland Raiders
1981 Lawrence Taylor Linebacker New York Giants
1982 Lawrence Taylor (2) Linebacker New York Giants
1983 Doug Betters Defensive end Miami Dolphins
1984 Kenny Easley Safety Seattle Seahawks
1985 Mike Singletary Linebacker Chicago Bears
1986 Lawrence Taylor (3) Linebacker New York Giants
1987 Reggie White Defensive end Philadelphia Eagles
1988 Mike Singletary (2) Linebacker Chicago Bears
1989 Keith Millard Defensive tackle Minnesota Vikings
1990 Bruce Smith Defensive end Buffalo Bills
1991 Pat Swilling Linebacker New Orleans Saints
1992 Cortez Kennedy Defensive tackle Seattle Seahawks
1993 Rod Woodson Cornerback Pittsburgh Steelers
1994 Deion Sanders Cornerback San Francisco 49ers
1995 Bryce Paup Linebacker Buffalo Bills
1996 Bruce Smith (2) Defensive end Buffalo Bills
1997 Dana Stubblefield Defensive tackle San Francisco 49ers
1998 Reggie White (2) Defensive end Green Bay Packers
1999 Warren Sapp Defensive tackle Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2000 Ray Lewis Linebacker Baltimore Ravens
2001 Michael Strahan Defensive end New York Giants
2002 Derrick Brooks Linebacker Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2003 Ray Lewis (2) Linebacker Baltimore Ravens
2004 Ed Reed Safety Baltimore Ravens
2005 Brian Urlacher Linebacker Chicago Bears
2006 Jason Taylor Defensive end Miami Dolphins
2007 Bob Sanders Safety Indianapolis Colts
2008 James Harrison Linebacker Pittsburgh Steelers
2009 Charles Woodson Cornerback Green Bay Packers
2010 Troy Polamalu Safety Pittsburgh Steelers
2011 Terrell Suggs Linebacker Baltimore Ravens
2012 J. J. Watt Defensive end Houston Texans
2013 Luke Kuechly Linebacker Carolina Panthers
2014 J. J. Watt (2) Defensive end Houston Texans
2015 J. J. Watt (3) Defensive end Houston Texans
2016 Khalil Mack Defensive end Oakland Raiders
2017 Aaron Donald Defensive tackle Los Angeles Rams
2018 Aaron Donald (2) Defensive tackle Los Angeles Rams
2019 Stephon Gilmore Cornerback New England Patriots
2020 Aaron Donald (3) Defensive tackle Los Angeles Rams
2021 T. J. Watt Linebacker Pittsburgh Steelers
2022 Nick Bosa Defensive end San Francisco 49ers
2023 Myles Garrett Defensive end Cleveland Browns

Multiple-time winners

Player Awards Position Team Seasons
Lawrence Taylor 3 Linebacker New York Giants 1981, 1982, 1986
J. J. Watt 3 Defensive end Houston Texans 2012, 2014, 2015
Aaron Donald 3 Defensive tackle Los Angeles Rams 2017, 2018, 2020
Joe Greene 2 Defensive tackle Pittsburgh Steelers 1972, 1974
Mike Singletary 2 Linebacker Chicago Bears 1985, 1988
Bruce Smith 2 Defensive end Buffalo Bills 1990, 1996
Reggie White 2 Defensive end Philadelphia Eagles
Green Bay Packers 		1987, 1998
Ray Lewis 2 Linebacker Baltimore Ravens 2000, 2003

See also