NFL Defensive Player of the Year odds: Value on Parsons after breakout rookie season

On Wednesday, we broke down the Offensive Player of the Year market. This time, we're running through the best bets on the defensive side of the ball, a market in which pass-rushers have been king for the last decade.

T.J. Watt, last year's winner, became the ninth lineman or edge rusher in the past 11 seasons to be named Defensive Player of the Year thanks to his record-setting 22.5 sacks in just 15 games for the Steelers. Despite his historic season, he's tied with Aaron Donald for the second-shortest odds (+700) behind fellow star pass-rusher Myles Garrett (+650) heading into 2022.

Here are the odds to win this year's award at Barstool Sportsbook (100-1 or shorter), along with three of our favorite value bets ahead of training camp:

Micah Parsons, LB, Cowboys (+900)

Parsons burst onto the scene as a rookie in 2021, starting 16 games for the Cowboys' elite defense and recording 13 sacks and 20 tackles for loss from the linebacker position. He was the runaway winner of Defensive Rookie of the Year and even made a late push for DPOY.

Given how prolific Parsons was in his first NFL season, it feels a little silly to price last year's runner-up as the fourth-shortest option ahead of what should be a significant offseason. The linebacker recorded 10.5 sacks and 17 tackles for loss in the final 10 games alone, which follows the trajectory you'd expect from a 23-year-old rising star.

Parsons will be asked to do it all for the Cowboys again this year, so I expect his gaudy sack totals to persist into his sophomore campaign. If he can add a few takeaways to his resume - he finished with zero interceptions or fumble recoveries in 2021 - he'll be in the mix to win it this time around.

Maxx Crosby, DE, Raiders (+3300)

For an honor that rewards elite pass-rushers, Crosby is lurking as a dangerous long shot after a statistically dominant 2021 campaign.

Sure, the Raiders edge rusher finished with just eight sacks a year ago, but he led the NFL in hurries (77) and QB hits (20) and finished second in total pressures (108) - tallying one fewer than three-time DPOY winner Donald (109). He also had the highest pass rush win rate (26.8%) among all pass-rushers with at least 100 attempts, which should translate to more sacks over time.

It's not as though the fourth-year lineman can't finish the job - he recorded at least seven sacks in each of the last three years - so if those hurries translate into takedowns, he's in prime position to explode onto the scene in 2022.

Jaire Alexander, CB, Packers (+6600)

Yes, DPOY is traditionally a pass-rusher's award, even with cornerback Stephon Gilmore winning it in 2019. But this is a criminally long price for Alexander, the highest-paid defender in football and arguably the best defensive back in the entire league.

He missed 13 games last campaign but owned the highest wins above replacement (0.88) of any defender the season prior, earning All-Pro honors after another phenomenal year for the Packers. Alexander graded out as the best cornerback in football in 2020 and recorded at least 11 pass breakups in each of his three full seasons before last year's 4-game stint.

The former first-round pick ended his 2021 campaign with a crucial missed tackle in the postseason, which he already said will fuel him entering the first year of his new deal. I'm betting on Alexander to produce his best season yet as a pro, which could make him a dark horse for DPOY at a juicy price.

C Jackson Cowart is a sports betting writer at theScore. You can follow him on Twitter (@CJacksonCowart) or email him at [email protected].