Defensive Rookie of the Year Odds
(The Spread) – Who will win this year’s NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year? There might be a sleeper or two in the bunch.
According to oddsmakers from online sports book Bovada.lv, Lions defensive end Ezekiel “Ziggy” Ansah is a 13/2 favorite to win the Defensive Rookie of the Year award in 2013. Steelers’ outside linebacker Jarvis Jones has the next-best odds at 8/1 while Arthur Brown of the Ravens is 10/1 to win. Manti Te’o, Star Lotulelei and Tyran Mathieu are all 14/1, respectively.
Mathieu is a potential value at 14/1 based on the reports out of Arizona this pre-season. In his NFL debut, he had a sack, broke up a pass with a jarring hit, and returned a punt 24 yards. His coach Bruce Arians believes that he’s big enough to play free safety full-time despite being 5’9″ and 186 pounds. While injuries will be a point of contention for the rookie, he has big-play potential and could wind up being the steal of the 2013 NFL Draft.
Another potential value pick is Ravens safety Matt Elam, who is 16/1 to win the Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2013. He’s going to start at strong safety for the defending Super Bowl champion Ravens and he should rack up plenty of tackles while giving Dean Peas a versatile weapon in the secondary. The only knock on both Mathieu and Elam is that a defensive back hasn’t won the award since Charles Woodson accomplished the feat in 1998.
Nine linebackers have won the DROY in the past 10 years, with the lone exception being defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh in 2010. Some linebackers with value are Alec Ogletree at 18/1, Barkevious Mingo at 20/1 and Jon Bostic at 25/1. The rest of the field is listed below.
Who will win the 2013 Defensive Rookie of the Year?
Ezekiel Ansah 13/2
Jarvis Jones 8/1
Arthur Brown 10/1
Manti Teo 14/1
Star Lotulelei 14/1
Tyran Mathieu 14/1
Dee Milliner 16/1
Kenny Vaccaro 16/1
Matt Elam 16/1
Alec Ogletree 18/1
Dion Jordan 18/1
Sharrif Floyd 18/1
Barkevious Mingo 20/1
Datone Jones 20/1
Desmond Trufant 20/1
DJ Hayden 20/1
Bjoern Werner 25/1
Eric Reid 25/1
John Jenkins 25/1
Jon Bostic 25/1
Jonathan Cyprien 25/1
Kevin Minter 25/1
Sheldon Richardson 25/1
Sylvester Williams 25/1
Xavier Rhodes 25/1
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