Surtain was the favorite to win the award entering Thursday, beating out pass rushers T.J. Watt, Myles Garrett and Trey Hendrickson and linebacker Zach Baun. With the win, Surtain

In the Eagles’ NFC Wild Card win over the Green Bay Packers on January 12, Baun logged eight tackles, one interception, and one pass deflection. Baun had six tackles, one tackle for loss, and one pass defended in the divisional-round win over the Rams.

Garrett finished in third place in NFL Defensive Player of the Year voting this season. Garrett did, however, once again finish with more first-place votes than Pittsburgh Steelers’ pass rusher T.J. Watt. Overall, Garrett finished with a total of 162 votes: five first-place votes, 11 second-place votes, and 12 third-place votes among them.

Pat Surtain is just the seventh cornerback to win Defensive Player of the Year, and he’s the second Bronco, joining Randy Gradishar (1978).

The NFL's best defensive player once again resides in the Mile High City. The NFL's 2025 Defensive Player of the Year award was given to Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II. Surtain beat out Bengals pass rusher Trey Hendrickson,

Denver Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II is The Associated Press NFL Defensive Player of the Year for the 2024 season. Surtain is the first former Alabama player to win the award, which has been presented annually since 1971. The award was presented during the “NFL Honors” program on Thursday night in New Orleans.

Denver Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II won the AP NFL defensive player of the year award with 26 first-place votes.

Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain II became the second player in team history to win defensive player of the year. He joined Hall of Fame linebacker Randy Gradishar (1978) in earning the award. Von Miller finished second in voting for the award in 2012 and 2016 when he was with the Broncos,