The Defensive Rookie of the Year race last year featured two players that were co-favorites at some books before the season, and it turned out to be a tight race between Will Anderson and Jalen Carter in the end. But Anderson, who we tapped as our top bet for this award, did enough to edge out Carter 151 to 122, with Kobie Turner and Devon Witherspoon also receiving a significant number of votes.

This year there's a slight betting favorite, thought that player, Dallas Turner, was the third defensive player selected. The first player off the board was Laiatu Latu, who is just behind Turner in our consensus odds. Will Turner's status as the favorite give him a clear path toward taking home the award, or does Latu being the first defensive player selected give him a leg up with voters heading to into the season? And will the unique nature of the 2024 NFL Draft open up the race entirely when no defensive players were selected in the top 10 for the first time ever?

I'll dig into what recent history regarding award winners means for our strategy, break down the field for Defensive Rookie of the Year below and identify who I think makes the most sense to back, including some longshots I think could be worth small-sized plays. But first, let's look at the list of odds for players who are lower than 100-1 in our consensus odds average.

2024 Defensive Rookie of the Year odds

Which favorites are worth playing to win Defensive Rookie of the Year, and which should be faded? And which candidates make for the best values to take home the award? ... Join SportsLine right now to see NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year futures betting strategy from SportsLine's No. 1 NFL expert!