2022 NFL Defensive Player of the Year odds: 49ers' Nick Bosa now runaway leader over previous favorite Micah Parsons

Just a few weeks ago, Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons was a -1200 heavy favorite at DraftKings to follow up his 2021 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award with a Defensive Player of the Year win this season. However, the race is now all but over with Parsons having slid to a +650 second favorite behind San Francisco 49ers end Nick Bosa, who is -1200.

Cleveland's Myles Garrett and Pittsburgh's TJ Watt, the 2021 winner, were the preseason favorites at +700 each with three-time Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald of the Rams and Parsons each at +900. Following a two-sack game in Week 7 against Detroit that gave Parsons eight sacks on the year, he became the favorite and got as high as -1200 following yet another two-sack game in Week 12 that put him at 12 on the season. However, Parsons has just one sack since then and ranks fifth in the league with 13.

Bosa had odds as long as +1500 and was still +1100 a month ago, but has six sacks in the past four games and leads the NFL with 17.5 for the league's No. 1 defense (290.3 yards per game allowed) and scoring defense (15.3 PPG). Those sacks mark a career high and tie him with Fred Dean for the second-most in franchise history since sacks became an official statistic in 1982. Aldon Smith holds the mark with 19.5. Bosa was a one-man wrecking ball in last Saturday's win over Washington with seven tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble and five pressures.

"I think today secured his defensive MVP," teammate George Kittle said. "I don't know how it doesn't. If you look at what he does every Sunday compared to everyone else around the league whether it's offense or defense, I don't know why he's not in the MVP conversation, too ... Every single day he's just an absolute monster. All the sacks, they're earned and deserved. He's fantastic. He's never not good."

The second overall pick in the 2019 draft, Bosa has 12 games with at least one sack this season. That's tied for the fourth-most such games in a campaign since 1982, when the individual sack became an official statistic. Only DeMarcus Ware (14 games in 2008), Justin Houston (13 in 2014) and Chandler Jones (13 in 2017) have more. None of them won Defensive Player of the Year – the last Niners player to do so was defensive tackle Dana Stubblefield in 1997.

Bosa is also -1200 to lead in sacks, with New England's Matthew Judon second with 15.5 and priced +700. Parsons is +8000. One thing to keep in mind on this prop is that San Francisco could sit Bosa in Week 18 if the team is locked into its playoff seed, which is quite possible. The Niners are 10-point favorites in Las Vegas this Sunday with the Raiders having benched quarterback Derek Carr.

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