youngest player to win nfl defensive player of the year

Luke Kuechly and Lawrence Taylor are tied for the youngest when winning the Defensive Player of the Year award >0 times. They are 22 years old.

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Regular season

	NAME	Age	DPOY	SEASON	TM	GP	YDS	YDS/G	TD	RUSH YDS	RUSH YDS/G	RUSH TD	REC YDS	REC YDS/G	REC TD	KR YDS	KR YDS/G	KR TD	PR YDS	PR YDS/G	PR TD
1	Luke Kuechly L. Kuechly	22	1	2013	CAR	16	33	2.1	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0
2	Lawrence Taylor L. Taylor	22	1	1981	NYG	16	5	0.3	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0
3	J.J. Watt	23	1	2012	HOU	16	7	0.4	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0
4	Lawrence Taylor L. Taylor	23	1	1982	NYG	9	97	10.8	1	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0
5	Pat Surtain II P. Surtain II	24	1	2024	DEN	16	132	8.3	1	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0
6	Cortez Kennedy C. Kennedy	24	1	1992	SEA	16	19	1.2	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0
7	Jack Lambert J. Lambert	24	1	1976	PIT	14	68	4.9	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0
8	Nick Bosa N. Bosa	25	1	2022	SF	16	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0
9	Khalil Mack K. Mack	25	1	2016	OAK	16	7	0.4	1	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0
10	J.J. Watt	25	1	2014	HOU	16	143	8.9	5	0	0.0	0	4	0.3	3	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0
11	Ray Lewis R. Lewis	25	1	2000	BAL	16	1	0.1	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0
12	Kenny Easley K. Easley	25	1	1984	SEA	16	320	20.0	2	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	194	12.1	0
13	Lester Hayes L. Hayes	25	1	1980	OAK	16	273	17.1	1	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0
14	Lee Roy Selmon L. Roy Selmon	25	1	1979	TB	16	29	1.8	1	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0
15	Aaron Donald A. Donald	26	1	2017	LAR	14	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0
16	J.J. Watt	26	1	2015	HOU	16	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0
17	Bob Sanders B. Sanders	26	1	2007	IND	15	57	3.8	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0
18	Ed Reed E. Reed	26	1	2004	BAL	16	402	25.1	2	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0
19	Reggie White R. White	26	1	1987	PHI	12	70	5.8	1	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0
20	Randy Gradishar R. Gradishar	26	1	1978	DEN	16	49	3.1	1	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0
21	Joe Greene J. Greene	26	1	1972	PIT	14	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0
22	Alan Page A. Page	26	1	1971	MIN	14	8	0.6	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0
23	T.J. Watt	27	1	2021	PIT	15	1	0.1	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0
24	Aaron Donald A. Donald	27	1	2018	LAR	16	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0
25	Brian Urlacher B. Urlacher	27	1	2005	CHI	16	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	0

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PASS

1,268

Young

RUSH

306

Hubbard

REC

385

McMillan

Team Rankings

PPG

30.3

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OPP PPG

27.3

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RUSH YDS/G

104.5

18th

PASS YDS/G

317.0

1st

2026 Division Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT
Panthers	2	2	.500
Falcons	2	3	.400
Saints	1	4	.200
Buccaneers	1	4	.200

Schedule

DATE	MATCHUP			TIME (ET)
Sun 10/18	CAR	@	PHI	1:00 PM
Sun 10/25	TB	@	CAR	1:00 PM
Thu 10/29	CAR	@	GB	8:15 PM
Sun 11/8	DEN	@	CAR	1:00 PM
Sun 11/15	CAR	@	NO	1:00 PM

Last Game

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2 - 2

Final

Panthers

2 - 2

Sun 4 Oct 2026

NFL 2026 Leaders

Pass Yards Leaders

1,572

Stafford

1,485

Goff

1,408

Love

Rush Yards Leaders

580

Robinson

537

Walker

532

Cook

Rec Yards Leaders

583

Smith-Njigba

537

Olave

507

Lamb

Pass TD Leaders

13

Purdy

12

Goff

12

Cousins

Rush TD Leaders

8

Allen

7

Gibbs

7

Henry

Rec TD Leaders

7

Smith-Njigba

6

Watson

5

St. Brown

QB Rating Leaders

119.6

Jackson

119.3

Purdy

111.3

Goff

Sack Leaders

7.5

Anderson

6.0

Rousseau

5.5

Turner

NFL 2026 Rankings

PPG Rankings

32.8

30.8

30.3

29.5

29.2

Opp PPG Rankings

12.8

14.0

18.6

18.8

19.2

Total Yards Rankings

424.4

412.0

405.8

396.2

394.2

393.8

Rush Yards Rankings

173.2

166.8

164.4

162.3

158.0

139.6

Pass Yards Rankings

317.0

297.0

281.6

280.4

276.2

Sack Leaders

20.0

18.0

17.0

16.0

NFL Fantasy 2026

Fantasy RB Rankings

126.7

Gibbs

103.8

Henry

103.2

Robinson

Fantasy WR Rankings

102.5

Smith-Njigba

83.4

Watson

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Lamb

Fantasy TE Rankings

52.4

Likely

50.8

Kittle

49.6

LaPorta

Fantasy K Rankings

75

Shrader

68

Reichard

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4-1

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Worst Record ATS

0-4-1

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NFL 2026 Standings

NFC East	W	L	T	PCT
Giants	3	1	1	.700
Eagles	2	3	0	.400
Cowboys	2	3	0	.400
Commanders	1	3	1	.300
NFC North	W	L	T	PCT
Vikings	5	0	0	1.000
Packers	3	2	0	.600
Lions	3	2	0	.600
Bears	3	2	0	.600
NFC South	W	L	T	PCT
Panthers	2	2	0	.500
Falcons	2	3	0	.400
Buccaneers	1	4	0	.200
Saints	1	4	0	.200
NFC West	W	L	T	PCT
49ers	5	0	0	1.000
Seahawks	3	2	0	.600
Rams	2	3	0	.400
Cardinals	1	4	0	.200

AFC East	W	L	T	PCT
Bills	4	1	0	.800
Patriots	3	2	0	.600
Jets	2	3	0	.400
Dolphins	0	5	0	.000
AFC North	W	L	T	PCT
Ravens	4	1	0	.800
Browns	3	2	0	.600
Steelers	3	2	0	.600
Bengals	3	2	0	.600
AFC South	W	L	T	PCT
Jaguars	4	1	0	.800
Colts	2	3	0	.400
Texans	1	4	0	.200
Titans	0	5	0	.000
AFC West	W	L	T	PCT
Chiefs	4	0	0	1.000
Broncos	3	2	0	.600
Raiders	3	2	0	.600
Chargers	0	5	0	.000

NFL 2026 Scores & Schedule

Scores

DATE	MATCHUP			SCORE
Wed 9/9	NE	@	SEA	10-13
Thu 9/10	SF	@	LAR	27-7
Sun 9/13	CHI	@	CAR	59-37
Sun 9/13	BAL	@	IND	41-23
Sun 9/13	ATL	@	PIT	13-20

Schedule

DATE	MATCHUP			TIME (ET)
Thu 10/15	SEA	@	DEN	8:15 PM
Sun 10/18	HOU	@	JAX	9:30 AM
Sun 10/18	TEN	@	IND	1:00 PM
Sun 10/18	CAR	@	PHI	1:00 PM
Sun 10/18	PIT	@	TB	1:00 PM

Luke Kuechly and Lawrence Taylor are tied for the youngest when winning the Defensive Player of the Year award >0 times. They are 22 years old.

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537

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NFL 2026 Rankings

NFL Fantasy 2026

126.7

103.8

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