Stephon Gilmore Closes Season with -400 Odds to Win NFL DPOY, Shaq Barrett Listed at +800

By in NFL Football — January 1, 2020 4:31 PM PST

Will Stephon Gilmore's Week 17 struggles ruin his Defensive Player of the Year candidacy? Photo by Michael Miller (Wikimedia Commons).

New England Patriots’ cornerback Stephon Gilmore was burned in Week 17 as Miami Dolphins’ wideout DeVante Parker finished with eight catches for 137 yards

Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ edge rusher Shaquil Barrett had three sacks in Week 17 and finished with an NFL high 19.5 sacks

Arizona Cardinals’ edge rusher Chandler Jones had a quiet Week 17, finishing with no sacks

New England Patriots’ cornerback Stephon Gilmore has closed as a -400 favorite to win Defensive Player of the Year. After a bit of a shaky Week 17, is the door open for someone else to swoop in and win the award or is Gilmore the best bet based on his body of work? Let’s take a closer look.

2019 NFL DPOY Odds

Player Pos Team Odds Stephon Gilmore CB NE -400 Shaquil Barrett EDGE TB +800 TJ Watt EDGE PIT +800 Chandler Jones EDGE ARI +900 Aaron Donald DT LAR +1000

Odds taken Jan. 1.

Gilmore Gets Burned In Week 17

Week 17 was not a good week for the Patriots or Gilmore. The Pats needed a win to secure the No. 2 seed in the AFC and earn a bye. Instead, they lost outright at home to the Miami Dolphins even though the Patriots were a 17-point favorite.

One of the main reasons for the loss was the terrible play of the pass defense. They let Ryan Fitzpatrick throw for 320 yards and a touchdown, including the game-winning score with under 30 seconds to go. Gilmore had one of his worst games of the season as DeVante Parker, a player he covered for much of the day, finished with eight catches for 137 yards.





The question is how will this impact the race? Gilmore was at -250 last time we checked the NFL DPOY odds and now he’s at -400, so it hasn’t changed anything in the minds of oddsmakers. However, they’re not the ones deciding this award.



Jones Comes Up Empty, Barrett Collects Three Sacks In Week 17

Arizona Cardinals edge rusher Chandler Jones entered Week 17 with an outside shot at breaking the NFL’s single-season sack record. He needed four sacks but instead, ended up empty-handed and finished the year with 19 sacks. Jones’ odds have still shortened a bit from +1000 to +900 but it’s Shaq Barrett who has shot up the board.

Barrett was at +1400 entering Week 17 but his odds got a boost after a monster game. Barrett collected three sacks, which propelled him to the sack title as he ended up leading the league with 19.5 sacks this season. That’s why we saw his odds shorten from +1400 to +800.





The challenge for Barrett and Jones is that both played on defenses of losing teams. Both units allowed among the most points per game this season as the Bucs defense allowed the fourth-most (28.1) while the Cardinals unit allowed the fifth-most (27.6). That’s going to work against them as their individual accolades don’t clearly outdo Gilmore’s.

What’s The Best Bet?

It’s true that Gilmore had one of his worst weeks of the season in Week 17 but at the end of the day, Gilmore was the best defensive player on a defense that led the league in points per game allowed (14.1). On top of that, the Patriots won 12 games and Gilmore led the league in passes defended and was tied for the league-lead with six interceptions. He’ll win the award.

Pick: Gilmore -400

David Golokhov Entertainment NFL NBA MLB NHL Golf Tennis MMA Sports Writer For over 15 years, Dave has been working in mainstream media and sports betting. He hosted a station on Sirius Satellite Radio for four years, and is currently a senior writer for AskMen. He's interviewed hundreds of hundreds of high-profile sports stars like Shaquille O'Neal and Floyd Mayweather. David Golokhov Sports Writer Entertainment NFL NBA MLB NHL Golf Tennis MMA For over 15 years, Dave has been working in mainstream media and sports betting. He hosted a station on Sirius Satellite Radio for four years, and is currently a senior writer for AskMen. He's interviewed hundreds of hundreds of high-profile sports stars like Shaquille O'Neal and Floyd Mayweather.