Jimmy Boyd in Rueben Bain sits at +475 with David Bailey tucked in right behind at +550, and a gap that tight tells you the voters haven’t settled on a story yet. 107 players carry a live price for the 2026 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award, and I pull those numbers from 5 sportsbooks so you can see where the field actually stands as of September 10, 2026.
Defensive rookie voting rewards the box score. A cornerback on a leaky defense who racks up picks can outprice a shutdown player on a unit nobody tests, and that’s the whole game plan for finding value on this board.
2026 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award Odds
| # | Player | Best price | Book | Implied | 7 days | Since start |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Bailey | +360 | DraftKings | 21.7% | – | -15% |
| 2 | Caleb Downs | +550 | DraftKings | 15.4% | – | -23% |
| 3 | Jacob Rodriguez | +900 | FanDuel | 10.0% | – | even |
| 4 | Sonny Styles | +1000 | BetMGM | 9.1% | – | +27% |
| 5 | Arvell Reese | +1600 | BetMGM | 5.9% | – | +40% |
| 6 | Mansoor Delane | +1900 | FanDuel | 5.0% | – | +56% |
| 7 | Josiah Trotter | +2500 | FanDuel | 3.8% | – | -29% |
| 8 | Akheem Mesidor | +3000 | BetMGM | 3.2% | – | even |
| 9 | Anthony Hill | +3500 | DraftKings | 2.8% | – | even |
| 10 | Cashius Howell | +3500 | BetMGM | 2.8% | – | even |
| 11 | Rueben Bain | +4000 | Caesars | 2.4% | – | +312% |
| 12 | Dillon Thieneman | +4000 | FanDuel | 2.4% | – | +20% |
Show all 105 playersShow fewer
| 13 | Malachi Lawrence | +4000 | BetMGM | 2.4% | – | +14% |
| 14 | Treydan Stukes | +4000 | bet365 | 2.4% | – | even |
| 15 | Gabe Jacas | +5000 | BetMGM | 2.0% | – | -18% |
| 16 | Emmanuel McNeil-Warren | +7500 | FanDuel | 1.3% | – | even |
| 17 | Brandon Cisse | +7500 | bet365 | 1.3% | – | even |
| 18 | Peter Woods | +8000 | FanDuel | 1.2% | – | even |
| 19 | R Mason Thomas | +8000 | FanDuel | 1.2% | – | even |
| 20 | TJ Parker | +8000 | FanDuel | 1.2% | – | +15% |
| 21 | CJ Allen | +8000 | FanDuel | 1.2% | – | -7% |
| 22 | Keldric Faulk | +8000 | BetMGM | 1.2% | – | even |
| 23 | Jaishawn Barham | +8000 | BetMGM | 1.2% | – | -7% |
| 24 | D’Angelo Ponds | +8000 | BetMGM | 1.2% | – | +14% |
| 25 | Jake Golday | +8000 | BetMGM | 1.2% | – | even |
| 26 | Jordan van den Berg | +8000 | DraftKings | 1.2% | – | – |
| 27 | Kaleb Elarms-Orr | +8000 | bet365 | 1.2% | – | even |
| 28 | Caleb Banks | +8000 | bet365 | 1.2% | – | even |
| 29 | Chris Johnson | +10000 | Caesars | 1.0% | – | +17% |
| 30 | Keionte Scott | +10000 | BetMGM | 1.0% | – | -40% |
| 31 | Derrick Moore | +10000 | bet365 | 1.0% | – | even |
| 32 | Colton Hood | +10000 | BetMGM | 1.0% | – | even |
| 33 | AJ Haulcy | +10000 | FanDuel | 1.0% | – | -10% |
| 34 | Avieon Terrell | +10000 | BetMGM | 1.0% | – | even |
| 35 | Will Lee | +10000 | Caesars | 1.0% | – | – |
| 36 | Anthony Lucas | +10000 | bet365 | 1.0% | – | – |
| 37 | Gracen Halton | +10000 | BetMGM | 1.0% | – | even |
| 38 | Kayden McDonald | +10000 | bet365 | 1.0% | – | even |
| 39 | Vincent Anthony | +10000 | bet365 | 1.0% | – | – |
| 40 | Charles Demmings | +10000 | bet365 | 1.0% | – | even |
| 41 | Malik Muhammad | +10000 | BetMGM | 1.0% | – | +50% |
| 42 | Jermod McCoy | +10000 | bet365 | 1.0% | – | even |
| 43 | Kamari Ramsey | +10000 | bet365 | 1.0% | – | even |
| 44 | Dani Dennis-Sutton | +10000 | BetMGM | 1.0% | – | +20% |
| 45 | Hezekiah Masses | +12500 | FanDuel | 0.8% | – | -50% |
| 46 | Romello Height | +12500 | Caesars | 0.8% | – | -20% |
| 47 | LT Overton | +12500 | bet365 | 0.8% | – | even |
| 48 | Nadame Tucker | +12500 | bet365 | 0.8% | – | – |
| 49 | Mason Reiger | +12500 | bet365 | 0.8% | – | – |
| 50 | George Gumbs | +12500 | bet365 | 0.8% | – | even |
| 51 | Tyreak Sapp | +12500 | bet365 | 0.8% | – | – |
| 52 | Mikail Kamara | +12500 | bet365 | 0.8% | – | – |
| 53 | Zion Young | +15000 | BetMGM | 0.7% | – | even |
| 54 | Bryce Boettcher | +15000 | BetMGM | 0.7% | – | even |
| 55 | Davison Igbinosun | +15000 | BetMGM | 0.7% | – | +11% |
| 56 | Joshua Josephs | +15000 | BetMGM | 0.7% | – | +25% |
| 57 | Trey Moore | +15000 | BetMGM | 0.7% | – | even |
| 58 | Zakee Wheatley | +15000 | BetMGM | 0.7% | – | even |
| 59 | Tacario Davis | +15000 | BetMGM | 0.7% | – | even |
| 60 | Max Llewellyn | +15000 | BetMGM | 0.7% | – | +25% |
| 61 | Keyron Crawford | +15000 | BetMGM | 0.7% | – | even |
| 62 | Daylen Everette | +15000 | BetMGM | 0.7% | – | even |
| 63 | Devin Moore | +15000 | BetMGM | 0.7% | – | even |
| 64 | Christen Miller | +15000 | BetMGM | 0.7% | – | +25% |
| 65 | Jacob Thomas | +15000 | bet365 | 0.7% | – | – |
| 66 | Keith Abney | +15000 | DraftKings | 0.7% | – | even |
| 67 | Chandler Rivers | +15000 | BetMGM | 0.7% | – | even |
| 68 | Julian Neal | +20000 | bet365 | 0.5% | – | +8% |
| 69 | Domonique Orange | +20000 | bet365 | 0.5% | – | -12% |
| 70 | Landon Robinson | +20000 | FanDuel | 0.5% | – | – |
| 71 | Darrell Jackson | +20000 | FanDuel | 0.5% | – | – |
| 72 | Lee Hunter | +20000 | BetMGM | 0.5% | – | +20% |
| 73 | Kyle Louis | +20000 | BetMGM | 0.5% | – | even |
| 74 | Tyler Onyedim | +20000 | BetMGM | 0.5% | – | even |
| 75 | Jalon Kilgore | +20000 | bet365 | 0.5% | – | even |
| 76 | Jakobe Thomas | +20000 | bet365 | 0.5% | – | even |
| 77 | VJ Payne | +20000 | bet365 | 0.5% | – | even |
| 78 | Albert Regis | +20000 | bet365 | 0.5% | – | even |
| 79 | Caden Curry | +20000 | DraftKings | 0.5% | – | +50% |
| 80 | Jack Kelly | +20000 | bet365 | 0.5% | – | even |
| 81 | Ephesians Prysock | +20000 | bet365 | 0.5% | – | even |
| 82 | Bishop Fitzgerald | +20000 | bet365 | 0.5% | – | – |
| 83 | Aiden Fisher | +20000 | bet365 | 0.5% | – | – |
| 84 | Cam Ball | +20000 | bet365 | 0.5% | – | – |
| 85 | Deontae Lawson | +20000 | bet365 | 0.5% | – | – |
| 86 | Harold Perkins | +25000 | BetMGM | 0.4% | – | even |
| 87 | Kaleb Proctor | +25000 | BetMGM | 0.4% | – | +14% |
| 88 | Jimmy Rolder | +25000 | BetMGM | 0.4% | – | – |
| 89 | Wesley Williams | +25000 | BetMGM | 0.4% | – | – |
| 90 | Robert Spears-Jennings | +25000 | BetMGM | 0.4% | – | even |
| 91 | Nick Barrett | +25000 | BetMGM | 0.4% | – | – |
| 92 | Jadon Canady | +25000 | BetMGM | 0.4% | – | even |
| 93 | Chris McClellan | +25000 | BetMGM | 0.4% | – | even |
| 94 | Zane Durant | +25000 | BetMGM | 0.4% | – | – |
| 95 | DeMonte Capehart | +25000 | BetMGM | 0.4% | – | – |
| 96 | Jalen Huskey | +25000 | BetMGM | 0.4% | – | even |
| 97 | Genesis Smith | +25000 | BetMGM | 0.4% | – | even |
| 98 | Keyshaun Elliott | +25000 | BetMGM | 0.4% | – | – |
| 99 | Rayshaun Benny | +25000 | BetMGM | 0.4% | – | – |
| 100 | Michael Taaffe | +25000 | BetMGM | 0.4% | – | even |
| 101 | TJ Hall | +25000 | BetMGM | 0.4% | – | even |
| Only one book still prices these | ||||||
| 102 | Red Murdock | +20000 | FanDuel | 0.5% | – | – |
| 103 | Tim Keenan | +20000 | FanDuel | 0.5% | – | – |
| 104 | Taurean York | +20000 | FanDuel | 0.5% | – | – |
| 105 | Zxavian Harris | +20000 | FanDuel | 0.5% | – | – |
Best price is the longest number we found across bet365, BetMGM, DraftKings, Caesars, FanDuel. Implied probability strips nothing out; the whole board adds to more than 100% and that gap is the books’ margin. Movement is the change in what a winning dollar pays, so a move means the same thing at the top of the board and at the bottom; green means the price shortened. It reads across the books quoting a player both then and now, and a row too thinly quoted to compare shows a dash rather than a number. Since start runs from the first day we have every book’s price, which is not the market’s opening line.
Splash Stats Over Scheme Grades
This award rarely goes to the best pure technician. It goes to whoever piles up the plays that show up on a highlight reel, sacks, interceptions, defensive scores, since those are what voters actually remember when the ballot goes out.
That means a rookie stuck on a defense that gets torched all year can still rack up counting stats just by being on the field for more high leverage snaps. A shutdown player on a stingy unit might grade out cleaner on tape but never gets tested enough to pad his numbers.
Taurean York at +20000 is priced like an afterthought, but a role that puts a player near the quarterback or the ball every week is exactly the profile that can turn into real production, even on a defense nobody circles on the schedule.
A Turnover Streak Can Reprice a Rookie Fast
Nothing moves this board like production, and production shows up fast in a league that plays every week. A two sack game or a pick six can shorten a name’s price within days, long before the next slate even kicks off.
Snap counts matter just as much. A rookie who starts early because of an injury ahead of him gets more chances at the stats voters notice, and the price reacts to that opportunity as much as the production itself. I’d rather chase a role than a name, since the role keeps producing the numbers that push a price around all year.
Locking Up Cash for a Full Season
A defensive rookie of the year future ties up cash for the length of a season, and the number you bet today can look nothing like the number by the time voting closes. That’s a long hold, and it changes how I size a bet compared to a game line I’ll know the outcome of by the time the game ends.
I’d rather build a small portfolio than load up on one name. A modest stake on Rueben Bain paired with a couple of live longshots spreads the risk across different paths to the award, one built on sacks, another on picks, so one cold week doesn’t wreck the whole ticket.
Before locking any of it in, I check bet365, BetMGM, DraftKings, Caesars, FanDuel since the same player can carry a noticeably different price from one sportsbook to the next. Grabbing the best number on a bet you’re holding for months is money left on the table if you skip that step.
