PFWA NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award

The Pro Football Writers of America has annually honored a defensive player of the year in the National Football League since 1992. From 1992 through 2012, the award was presented in conjunction with Pro Football Weekly.^[1]

Season	Player	Team	Position	Ref
1992	Cortez Kennedy	Seattle Seahawks	Defensive tackle	^[2]
1993	Bruce Smith	Buffalo Bills	Defensive end
1994	Deion Sanders	San Francisco 49ers	Cornerback
1995	Bryce Paup	Buffalo Bills	Outside linebacker
1996	Bruce Smith	Buffalo Bills	Defensive end
1997	Dana Stubblefield	San Francisco 49ers	Defensive tackle
1998	Reggie White	Green Bay Packers	Defensive end
1999	Warren Sapp	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Defensive tackle
2000	Ray Lewis	Baltimore Ravens	Middle linebacker
2001	Michael Strahan	New York Giants	Defensive end
2002	Derrick Brooks	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Outside linebacker
2003	Ray Lewis	Baltimore Ravens	Middle linebacker
2004	Ed Reed	Baltimore Ravens	Safety
2005	Brian Urlacher	Chicago Bears	Middle linebacker
2006	Jason Taylor	Miami Dolphins	Defensive end
2007	Bob Sanders	Indianapolis Colts	Safety
2008	James Harrison	Pittsburgh Steelers	Outside linebacker
2009	Charles Woodson	Green Bay Packers	Cornerback
2010	Clay Matthews III	Green Bay Packers	Outside linebacker
2011	Terrell Suggs	Baltimore Ravens	Outside linebacker
2012	J. J. Watt	Houston Texans	Defensive end
2013	Robert Quinn	St. Louis Rams	Defensive end
2014	J. J. Watt	Houston Texans	Defensive end
2015	J. J. Watt	Houston Texans	Defensive end
2016	Khalil Mack	Oakland Raiders	Defensive end
2017	Calais Campbell	Jacksonville Jaguars	Defensive end
2018	Aaron Donald	Los Angeles Rams	Defensive tackle
2019	Stephon Gilmore	New England Patriots	Cornerback
2020	Aaron Donald	Los Angeles Rams	Defensive tackle
2021	T. J. Watt	Pittsburgh Steelers	Outside linebacker
2022	Nick Bosa	San Francisco 49ers	Defensive end
2023	Myles Garrett	Cleveland Browns	Defensive end

References

^ "Pro Football Writers of America History (1964-2020)" (PDF). Pro Football Writers of America. September 1, 2020. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
^ "Offensive Player of the Year | PFWA". Retrieved 2024-01-24.

[pfwa_history-1] "Pro Football Writers of America History (1964-2020)" (PDF). Pro Football Writers of America. September 1, 2020. Retrieved January 24, 2024.

[2] "Offensive Player of the Year | PFWA". Retrieved 2024-01-24.

[1]

[2]

v t e NFL awards and trophies
Team	Vince Lombardi Trophy Super Bowl Lamar Hunt Trophy AFC Championship George Halas Trophy NFC Championship
Individual	Most Valuable Player Coach of the Year Assistant Coach of the Year Offensive Player of the Year Defensive Player of the Year Rookie of the Year Comeback Player of the Year Walter Payton Man of the Year Alan Page Community Award Super Bowl MVP Pete Rozelle Trophy Super Bowl ring Sporting News NFL Player of the Year Award Art McNally Award Art Rooney Award Bart Starr Award Bert Bell Award Butkus Award Deacon Jones Award George Halas Award Polynesian Football Player of the Year Award
One-time only	50th Anniversary All-Time Team (1969) 75th Anniversary All-Time Team (1994) 100th Anniversary All-Time Team (2019) All-Decade Teams
Annual presentation	NFL Honors NFL Top 100
Awards organizations	Associated Press Kansas City Committee of 101 Maxwell Football Club NFL Alumni Touchdown Club of Columbus Washington D.C. Touchdown Club
Retired trophies and awards	Brunswick-Balke Collender Cup Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy NFL MVP DC Touchdown Club Joe F. Carr Trophy Jim Thorpe Trophy UPI American Football League Most Valuable Player Award NEA Defensive Player of the Year NEA Rookie of the Year Football Digest § NFL Player of the Year UPI AFL-AFC Player of the Year UPI NFC Player of the Year UPI AFL-AFC Rookie of the Year UPI NFL-NFC Rookie of the Year Washington D.C. Touchdown Club § NFL Player of the Year awards

See also

References