NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award
Encyclopedia
The NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award is given by the Associated Press
to the league's most outstanding defensive player at the end of every NFL season since 1971. Multiple-award winners include Lawrence Taylor
, who won it three times, and Joe Greene
, Mike Singletary
, Bruce Smith, Reggie White
, and Ray Lewis, who each won it twice. Lawrence Taylor
is the only player to win the award as a rookie
(1981), and James Harrison is the only one to win it as an undrafted free agent (2008).
During the respective seasons, a Defensive Player of the Week and Defensive Player of the Month are also announced.
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
to the league's most outstanding defensive player at the end of every NFL season since 1971. Multiple-award winners include Lawrence Taylor
Lawrence Taylor
Lawrence Julius Taylor , nicknamed "L.T.", is a Hall of Fame former American football player. Taylor played his entire professional career as a linebacker for the New York Giants in the National Football League...
, who won it three times, and Joe Greene
Joe Greene (American football)
Charles Edward Greene, known as “Mean Joe” Greene, is a former all-pro American football defensive tackle who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL. Throughout the early 1970s he was the one of most dominant defensive players in the National Football League...
, Mike Singletary
Mike Singletary
Michael "Mike" Singletary is an American football coach and former professional football player. He is currently the linebacker coach and assistant head coach for the Minnesota Vikings of the NFL....
, Bruce Smith, Reggie White
Reggie White
Reginald Howard "Reggie" White was a professional American football player. He played 15 seasons as a defensive end in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers and Carolina Panthers, becoming one of the most decorated players in NFL history...
, and Ray Lewis, who each won it twice. Lawrence Taylor
Lawrence Taylor
Lawrence Julius Taylor , nicknamed "L.T.", is a Hall of Fame former American football player. Taylor played his entire professional career as a linebacker for the New York Giants in the National Football League...
is the only player to win the award as a rookie
Rookie
Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of their sport or has little or no professional experience. The term also has the more general meaning of anyone new to a profession, training or activity Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of...
(1981), and James Harrison is the only one to win it as an undrafted free agent (2008).
During the respective seasons, a Defensive Player of the Week and Defensive Player of the Month are also announced.
NFL Defensive Players Of The Year
| Year | Player Name | NFL Team | Position | Team Defense Rank | Team Performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 1971 NFL season The 1971 NFL season was the 52nd regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl VI when the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Miami Dolphins... |
Minnesota Vikings Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960... |
Defensive tackle | 2 | NFC Division champ | |
| 1972 1972 NFL season The 1972 NFL season was the 53rd regular season of the National Football League. The Miami Dolphins became the first NFL team to finish a championship season undefeated and untied when they beat the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII.-Major rule changes:... |
Pittsburgh Steelers Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC... |
Defensive tackle | 8 | AFC Championship | |
| 1973 1973 NFL season The 1973 NFL season was the 54th regular season of the National Football League. The season featured O.J. Simpson becoming the first man to rush for 2,000 yards in one season... |
Miami Dolphins Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
Safety | 3 | Won Super Bowl VIII | |
| 1974 1974 NFL season The 1974 NFL season was the 55th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl IX when the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Minnesota Vikings... |
(2) | Pittsburgh Steelers (2) | Defensive tackle | 4 | Won Super Bowl IX |
| 1975 1975 NFL season The 1975 NFL season was the 56th regular season of the National Football League. It was also the first time that featured an entire season with no games ending in a tie. The league made two significant changes to increase the appeal of the game:... |
Pittsburgh Steelers (3) | Cornerback | 4 | Won Super Bowl X | |
| 1976 1976 NFL season The 1976 NFL season was the 57th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 28 teams with the addition of the Seattle Seahawks and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers... |
Pittsburgh Steelers (4) | Linebacker | 1 | AFC Championship | |
| 1977 1977 NFL season The 1977 NFL season was the 58th regular season of the National Football League. The Seattle Seahawks were placed in the AFC West while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were slotted in the NFC Central.... |
Dallas Cowboys Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas... |
Defensive end | 1 | Won Super Bowl XII | |
| 1978 1978 NFL season The 1978 NFL season was the 59th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded the regular season from a 14-game schedule to 16. Furthermore, the playoff format was expanded from 8 teams to 10 teams by adding another wild card from each conference... |
Denver Broncos Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
Linebacker | 6 | AFC Divisional | |
| 1979 1979 NFL season The 1979 NFL season was the 60th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XIV when the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Los Angeles Rams... |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West... |
Defensive end | 1 | NFC Championship | |
| 1980 1980 NFL season The 1980 NFL season was the 61st regular season of the National Football League.After the league declined to approve the proposed move by the Raiders from Oakland, California to Los Angeles, the team along with the Los Angeles Coliseum sued the NFL for violating antitrust laws... |
Oakland Raiders Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
Cornerback | 11 | Won Super Bowl XV | |
| 1981 1981 NFL season The 1981 NFL season was the 62nd regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XVI when the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Cincinnati Bengals.-Major rule changes:... |
-R | New York Giants New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League... |
Linebacker | 3 | NFC Divisional |
| 1982 1982 NFL season The 1982 NFL season was the 63rd regular season of the National Football League. A 57-day long players' strike reduced the 1982 season from a 16-game schedule per team to an abbreviated nine game schedule... |
(2) | New York Giants (2) | Linebacker | 7 | 4–5 no playoffs (strike season) |
| 1983 1983 NFL season The 1983 NFL season was the 64th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XVIII when the Los Angeles Raiders defeated the Washington Redskins.-Major rule changes:... |
Miami Dolphins (2) | Defensive end | 7 | AFC Divisional | |
| 1984 1984 NFL season The 1984 NFL season was the 65th regular season of the National Football League. The Colts relocated from Baltimore, Maryland to Indianapolis, Indiana.... |
Seattle Seahawks Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team... |
Safety | 6 | AFC Divisional | |
| 1985 1985 NFL season The 1985 NFL season was the 66th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XX when the Chicago Bears defeated the New England Patriots.-Major rule changes:... |
Chicago Bears Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League... |
Linebacker | 1 | Won Super Bowl XX | |
| 1986 1986 NFL season The 1986 NFL season was the 67th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XXI when the New York Giants defeated the Denver Broncos to win their first league title in 30 years.-Major rule changes:... |
(3) | New York Giants (3) | Linebacker | 2 | Won Super Bowl XXI |
| 1987 1987 NFL season The 1987 NFL season was the 68th regular season of the National Football League. A 24-day players' strike reduced the 16-game season to 15. The games that were scheduled for the third week of the season were canceled, but the games for weeks 4–6 were played with replacement players... |
Philadelphia Eagles Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League... |
Defensive end | 23 | 7–8 no playoffs (strike season) | |
| 1988 1988 NFL season The 1988 NFL season was the 69th regular season of the National Football League. The Cardinals relocated from St. Louis, Missouri to the Phoenix, Arizona area becoming the Phoenix Cardinals but remained in the NFC East division.... |
(2) | Chicago Bears (2) | Linebacker | 2 | NFC Championship |
| 1989 1989 NFL season The 1989 NFL season was the 70th regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle announced his retirement... |
Minnesota Vikings (2) | Defensive tackle | 1 | NFC Divisional | |
| 1990 1990 NFL season The 1990 NFL season was the 71st regular season of the National Football League. To increase revenue, the league changed the regular season so that all NFL teams would play their 16-game schedule over a 17-week period... |
Buffalo Bills Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
Defensive end | 8 | Lost Super Bowl XXV | |
| 1991 1991 NFL season The 1991 NFL season was the 72nd regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XXVI when the Washington Redskins defeated the Buffalo Bills.... |
New Orleans Saints New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League .... |
Linebacker | 2 | NFC Wildcard | |
| 1992 1992 NFL season The 1992 NFL season was the 73rd regular season of the National Football League.Due to the damage caused by Hurricane Andrew, the New England Patriots–Miami Dolphins game that was scheduled for September 6 at Joe Robbie Stadium was rescheduled to October 18. Both teams originally had that... |
Seattle Seahawks (2) | Defensive tackle | 10t | 2–14 no playoffs | |
| 1993 1993 NFL season The 1993 NFL season was the 74th regular season of the National Football League. For the first time in league history, all NFL teams played their 16-game schedule over a span of 18 weeks. After the success of expanding the regular season to a period of 17 weeks in 1990, the league hoped this new... |
Pittsburgh Steelers (5) | Cornerback | 3 | AFC Wildcard | |
| 1994 1994 NFL season The 1994 NFL season was the 75th regular season of the National Football League. To honor the NFL's 75th season, a special anniversary logo was designed and each player wore a patch on their jerseys with this logo throughout the season... |
San Francisco 49ers San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and... |
Cornerback | 8 | Won Super Bowl XXIX | |
| 1995 1995 NFL season The 1995 NFL season was the 76th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 30 teams with the addition of the Carolina Panthers and the Jacksonville Jaguars... |
Buffalo Bills (2) | Linebacker | 13 | AFC Divisional | |
| 1996 1996 NFL season The 1996 NFL season was the 77th regular season of the National Football League and the season was marked by notable controversies from beginning to end... |
(2) | Buffalo Bills (3) | Defensive end | 9 | AFC Wildcard |
| 1997 1997 NFL season The 1997 NFL season was the 78th regular season of the National Football League. The Oilers relocated from Houston, Texas to Nashville, Tennessee... |
San Francisco 49ers (2) | Defensive tackle | 1 | NFC Championship | |
| 1998 1998 NFL season The 1998 NFL season was the 79th regular season of the National Football League.The Tennessee Oilers moved their home games from Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis to Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville, still awaiting construction on a new stadium in Nashville.This was the first season that CBS... |
(2) | Green Bay Packers Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions... |
Defensive end | 4 | NFC Wildcard |
| 1999 1999 NFL season The 1999 NFL season was the 80th regular season of the National Football League. The Cleveland Browns returned to the field for the first time since the 1995 season... |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2) | Defensive tackle | 3 | NFC Championship | |
| 2000 2000 NFL season The 2000 NFL season was the 81st regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XXXV when the Baltimore Ravens defeated the New York Giants.Week 1 of the season reverted to Labor Day weekend in 2000... |
Baltimore Ravens Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional football franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland.The Baltimore Ravens are officially a quasi-expansion franchise, having originated in 1995 with the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced his... |
Linebacker | 2 | Won Super Bowl XXXV | |
| 2001 2001 NFL season The 2001 NFL season was the 82nd regular season of the National Football League.Following a pattern set in 1999, the first week of the season was permanently moved to the weekend following Labor Day... |
New York Giants (4) | Defensive end | 14 | 7–9 no playoffs | |
| 2002 2002 NFL season The 2002 NFL season was the 83rd regular season of the National Football League.The league went back to an even number of teams, expanding to 32 teams with the addition of the Houston Texans. The clubs were then realigned into eight divisions, four teams in each... |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3) | Linebacker | 1 | Won Super Bowl XXXVII | |
| 2003 2003 NFL season -Milestones:The following teams and players set all-time NFL records during the season:-Team:-Individual:-Awards:-External Links:**-References:*NFL Record and Fact Book *... |
(2) | Baltimore Ravens (2) | Linebacker | 3 | AFC Wildcard |
| 2004 2004 NFL season The 2004 NFL season was the 85th regular season of the National Football League.With the New England Patriots as the defending league champions, regular season play was held from September 9, 2004 to January 2, 2005... |
Baltimore Ravens (3) | Safety | 6 | 9–7 no playoffs | |
| 2005 2005 NFL season The 2005 NFL season was the 86th regular season of the National Football League.With the New England Patriots as the defending league champions, regular season play was held from September 8, 2005 to January 1, 2006... |
Chicago Bears (3) | Linebacker | 2 | NFC Divisional | |
| 2006 2006 NFL season The 2006 NFL season was the 87th regular season of the National Football League.Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31, 2006... |
Miami Dolphins (3) | Defensive end | 4 | 6–10, no playoffs | |
| 2007 2007 NFL season The 2007 NFL season was the 88th regular season of the National Football League.Regular-season play was held from September 6 to December 30.... |
Indianapolis Colts Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League .... |
Safety | 3 | AFC Divisional | |
| 2008 2008 NFL season The 2008 NFL season was the 89th regular season of the National Football League, themed with the slogan "Believe in Now."Super Bowl XLIII, the league's championship game, was at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on February 1, 2009, with the Pittsburgh Steelers coming out victorious over the... |
Pittsburgh Steelers (6) | Linebacker | 1 | Won Super Bowl XLIII | |
| 2009 2009 NFL season The 2009 NFL season was the 90th regular season of the National Football League.The preseason started with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game on August 9, 2009, and the regular season began September 10. The season ended with Super Bowl XLIV, the league's championship game, on February 7, 2010 at... |
Green Bay Packers (2) | Cornerback | 2 | NFC Wildcard | |
| 2010 2010 NFL season The 2010 NFL season was the 91st regular season of the National Football League.The regular season began with the NFL Kickoff game on NBC on Thursday, September 9, at the Louisiana Superdome as the New Orleans Saints, Super Bowl XLIV champions, defeated the Minnesota Vikings 14–9.Tom Brady,... |
Pittsburgh Steelers (7) | Safety | 2 | Lost Super Bowl XLV |
See also
- Defensive Player of the Year Award (NFC and AFC) (Kansas City Committee of 101 Awards) (since 1969)
- NEA NFL Defensive Players of the Year (defunct)
- UPI AFC and NFC Defensive Player of the Year Award (since 1975) (defunct ?)
- NFL Offensive Player of the Year AwardNFL Offensive Player of the Year AwardThe NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award is given annually by the Associated Press to the offensive player of the National Football League believed to have had the most outstanding season...
- NFL Most Valuable Player awards
- Bert Bell AwardBert Bell AwardThe Bert Bell Award for the Professional American football Player of the Year is presented by the Maxwell Football Club. This award is named in honor of Bert Bell , Commissioner of the National Football League and founder of the Maxwell Club...
- UPI AFL-AFC Player of the YearUPI AFL-AFC Player of the YearFrom 1960 to 1969, the United Press International gave the annual AFL Player of the Year award in the American Football League, whose teams in 1970 became the American Football Conference of the new National Football League ....
(defunct) - UPI NFC Player of the YearUPI NFC Player of the YearFrom 1970 to 1996, the United Press International awarded the NFC Player of the Year to players from the NFL's National Football Conference .-NFC Offensive Player of the Year:-See also:*UPI AFL-AFC Player of the Year...
(defunct)
External links
- NFL Defensive Player of the Year at CBSSportsline.com
- NFL Defensive Player of the Year at The Times Leader website
- http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d81e07db6/article/steelers-s-polamalu-named-ap-defensive-player-of-the-year at NFL.com News