The 2026 Super Bowl favorites have added two former Defensive Players of the Year this offseason.
After falling just short of a Super Bowl appearance last season, the Los Angeles Rams made the biggest move of the offseason by acquiring reigning DPOY Myles Garrett in a blockbuster trade with the Cleveland Browns back in June.
Now, they’ve added another all-time great to their defense, and it’s a familiar face.
After two seasons away from football, three-time DPOY Aaron Donald is coming out of retirement and returning to the Rams for the 2026 season.
The news immediately shook up the DPOY oddsboard, with Donald soaring to +4500 at FanDuel Sportsbook. Donald won the award three times during his first stint with the Rams (2017, 2018 and 2020).
Could Donald make history and capture the award for a fourth time after more than two years away from the game. Let’s take a look at the odds to win the 2026 NFL Defensive Player of the Year at FanDuel Sportsbook as of Aug. 31.
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Myles Garrett is the +400 to win the 2026 NFL DPOY (David Crane/Getty Images).
2026 NFL DPOY Odds
Myles Garrett: +400 (bet $10 to win $50 total)
Will Anderson Jr: +650 (bet $10 to win $75 total)
Aidan Hutchinson: +900 (bet $10 to win $100 total)
Nik Bonitto: +1900 (bet $10 to win $200 total)
Maxx Crosby: +2200 (bet $10 to win $230 total)
Jalen Carter: +2500 (bet $10 to win $260 total)
Danielle Hunter: +2500 (bet $10 to win $260 total)
T.J. Watt: +3000 (bet $10 to win $310 total)
Trey Hendrickson: +3000 (bet $10 to win $310 total)
Jared Verse: +3000 (bet $10 to win $310 total)
Brian Burns: +3300 (bet $10 to win $340 total)
Quinyon Mitchell: +4000 (bet $10 to win $410 total)
Aaron Donald: +4500 (bet $10 to win $460 total)
Here’s what to know about this oddsboard:
The Favorite: Garrett won the AP NFL DPOY award unanimously in 2025. The former No. 1 overall pick received all 50 first-place votes after breaking the single-season sack record with 23 sacks. Next on the oddsboard is Will Anderson Jr. In 2025, Anderson recorded 12 sacks and was fourth in the league in pass rush win rate at 23%.
Aaron Donald’s Return: The Rams’ all-time sack leader is back, and he’ll join Garrett on what could be a historic defense. Donald has 111 career sacks, while he and Garrett have combined for 236.5 in their careers. The biggest question is what Donald will look like after two seasons away. In 2023, his final season before retiring, Donald recorded eight sacks in 16 games after posting five sacks in 11 games in 2022. Prior to that, however, he recorded at least 12.5 sacks in four consecutive seasons from 2018-21, highlighted by a career-high 20.5 sacks in 2018. What will Donald’s snap count look like after two years away? Can he return to the dominant form that made him a three-time DPOY? The books currently list Donald at +4500 to win the award in 2026.
