Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

Awhile back I made a post of every player who was top five all time in a few stats (passing yards, rushing touchdowns, receiving yards, etc.)

Well I thought of another one:

The following defensive players are listed as finishing top five in the voting for Defensive Player of the Year by the Associated Press at least once each in their careers since 1971 (by my count there are 170 total):

*denotes that this player tied for fifth in the year I first saw them on there.

Alan Page
Carl Eller
Bob Lilly
Joe Greene
Nick Buoniconti
Chris Hanburger
Merlin Olsen
Dick Anderson
Isiah Robertson
Bill Bergey
Ted Hendricks
Emmitt Thomas
Mel Blount
Curley Culp
John Dutton
Wally Chambers
Jack Lambert
Tommy Hart
Monte Jackson
Coy Bacon
Harvey Martin
Lyle Alzado
Randy Gradishar
Rubin Carter
Jack Ham
Randy White
Al Baker
Lee Roy Selmon
Mike Reinfeldt
Jack Youngblood
Lester Hayes
Nolan Cromwell
*Steve Nelson
*Al Richardson
*Fred Smerlas
Lawrence Taylor
Joe Klecko
Mark Gastineau
Fred Dean
Joel Williams
*Everson Walls
Doug Betters
Dave Butz
*Chip Banks
Kenny Easley
Mike Singletary
Howie Long
Andre Tippett
Dexter Manley
Wilber Marshall
Reggie White
Bruce Smith
Fredd Young
Keith Millard
Cornelius Bennett
Tim Harris
Chris Doleman
*Dennis Smith
Derrick Thomas
Charles Haley
Vaughan Johnson
Ronnie Lott
Pat Swilling
Seth Joyner
Cortez Kennedy
Junior Seau
Clyde Simmons
*Rickey Jackson
*Leslie O'Neal
Rod Woodson
Deion Sanders
Neil Smith
Greg Lloyd
Bryce Paup
*Merton Hanks
*Sam Mills
*Ken Norton Jr.
Kevin Greene
Alfred Williams
*Chad Brown
*Bryant Young
Dana Stubblefield
Jessie Armstead
Levon Kirkland
Carnell Lake
John Randle
Ty Law
Zach Thomas
Warren Sapp
Jevon Kearse
Kevin Carter
Ray Lewis
Derrick Brooks
La'Roi Glover
Keith Hamilton
Michael Strahan
Brian Urlacher
Jamir Miller
Jason Taylor
Brian Dawkins
Richard Seymour
Roy Williams
*Rodney Harrison
*Leonard Little
*Trevor Pryce
Ed Reed
James Farrior
Dwight Freeney
Julius Peppers
*Donnie Edwards
Troy Polamalu
Osi Umenyiora
Adrian Wilson
DeMeco Ryans
A.J. Hawk
Kamerion Wimbley
*Johnathan Joeseph
*Dawan Landry
*Mario Williams
Bob Sanders
Albert Haynesworth
Patrick Kerney
Antonio Cromartie
*Mike Vrabel
*DeMarcus Ware
James Harrison
Brian Cushing
Jairus Byrd
Clay Matthews
Brian Orakpo
Terrell Suggs
Jared Allen
Justin Smith
Jason Pierre-Paul
Patrick Willis
J.J. Watt
Von Miller
Luke Kuechly
Robert Mathis
Earl Thomas
Robert Quinn
Richard Sherman
Aaron Donald
Josh Norman
Khalil Mack
Landon Collins
Sean Lee
Calais Campbell
Chandler Jones
*Cameron Jordan
*DeMarcus Lawrence
*Xavier Rhodes
*Harrison Smith
*Bobby Wagner
Stephon Gilmore
T.J. Watt
Shaquil Barrett
*Danielle Hunter
*Tre'Davious White
Xavien Howard
Micah Parsons
Nick Bosa
Chris Jones
Haason Reddick
Myles Garrett
Maxx Crosby
DaRon Bland
Patrick Surtain II
Trey Hendrickson
Zach Baun

And out of that total, what 32-33 players from the secondary? Shows you how underrated these guys can be compared to front seven players. Of course, nickel and dime sub-packages change the dynamics as well.

It'd be interesting to know how many times each individual was in the top 5 and who was in it the most.

Aaron Donald came to mind... he was Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2014, DPOY 3 times and in the top five for DPOY 4 other times. In his last season he was 9th in DPOY (All per PFR).
So he was in the top 5 7 times. I wonder if anyone can top that...?

Looking at J.J. Watt: 3 times DPOY but didn't finish in the top 5 any other time. He was DPOY 6th and in the voting for come-back player of the year twice.

This should be pretty close / accurate, normal caveat of transcribing and pasting lots of data from numerous pages may lead to minor errors.

pgconboy wrote: ↑Sun Oct 12, 2025 11:08 am This should be pretty close / accurate, normal caveat of transcribing and pasting lots of data from numerous pages may lead to minor errors.

Looking at this image, the player with the most is Bruce Smith with eight top five finishes, Reggie White and Aaron Donald have seven top fives apiece, Randy White and Ray Lewis have six apiece, Lawrence Taylor and T.J. Watt have five apiece.

Having four top five finishes each are Joe Greene, Brian Urlacher, Jack Ham, and Jack Lambert.

And having three are Deion Sanders, Mike Singletary, Mark Gastineau, Derrick Brooks, Alan Page, Micah Parsons, Ted Hendricks, J.J. Watt, Troy Polamalu, Jason Taylor, and Myles Garrett.

So 22 defensive players have finished top five in an MVP vote at least three times in their career.

Of those 22, 10 are defensive linemen, and at least three of the linebackers I see listed were primarily pass rushers (LT, TJ Watt, and Micah Parsons).

So probably at least 13 of the 22 were defensive linemen or pass rushing linebackers; including four of the five to reach the top five six times (Ray Lewis being the lone exception there).

Earlier one of you noted the comparative lack of secondary players, well I only see Deion Sanders, and Troy Polamalu among those who did it three times.

The one who jumps out at me is Randy White, who finished in the top three of the voting six times without ever winning. It just seems odd.

Good thread SeahawkFever and pgconboy ... players that have three or more top five finishes seem to have, or will have, HOF careers. The only exception in those listings is Gastineau, who was considered one-dimensional and will wait awhile for election with Klecko in the HOF.

Brian wolf wrote: ↑Mon Oct 13, 2025 12:06 am Good thread SeahawkFever and pgconboy ... players that have three or more top five finishes seem to have, or will have, HOF careers. The only exception in those listings is Gastineau, who was considered one-dimensional and will wait awhile for election with Klecko in the HOF.

I think Gastineu belongs in Canton personally. He may have been more one dimensional, but he had more sacks in his seven best seasons combined (fittingly enough 99) than several Hall of Famers; only four less than JJ Watt's seven best years even and he is a player who will get in on peak primarily.

Also sounds like above all, Gastineau wasn't well liked; that said I might argue that he has the peak of a Hall of Famer and he did something that only 22 defenders have done post merger with the DPOY voting.